Final Confrontation
by PashN
Summary: The euphoria of winning the battle with the Collectors had been short-lived, and all that remained now was the discomfort of anticipation and the burden of stopping the Reapers...
1. Prologue: Beginning

_Hello everyone. _

_Some of you may remember this story from before. I had to remove it for personal reasons. Chapters will be reposted every few days or so. The earlier parts of this were written years ago, and even though I deeply believe they should be revised to meet my current standards, I'd rather use my spare time to write my original story right now. For the aforementioned reason, it is highly unlikely that I continue this. But you'll never know. Maybe I'll hit a write's block in my other story and pick this up someday._

_Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading this._

_**Disclaimer – **Mass Effect and its characters are property of Bioware and Electronic Arts. I am just having profit-free fun with them._

* * *

**Prologue: Beginning**

Beautiful. Peaceful. Serene.

And she could think of many other words to describe the sight before her. The great empty void, Samara had called it once. Void, indeed. Stare at it long enough and you would also find it difficult to shrug off the feeling of loneliness and loss… and danger. Shepard knew too well by now that safety was a lie. The hole in the _Normandy_ which now acted as a window for her was proof enough, or the sole datapad that was lying on the table.

Heaving a sigh, she stood up and went for the shower. Curtains of warm water fell about her slender form, washing away the troubling thoughts haunting her mind. She lost count of the minutes spent wondering about what had happened to them in the past few days. Their suicidal mission hadn't started as they had expected. Entering that cursed relay after an ambush by the Collectors, with twelve people aboard, hadn't been part of the plan. She didn't want to admit it, but it had almost been a miracle they'd all come out of it alive. A part of her wanted to find relief in that notion. The feeling soon faded as she remembered the threats looming heavily in the future.

It would have been easier to act like nothing had happened, as though she was not living in a waking nightmare and saving the galaxy from 'the greatest threat of their brief existence', with only a group of roughly a dozen people.

Running a hand through her dark, shoulder-length hair, she turned to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her own grey eyes stared back from the misty surface. Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre in history, the hero of the Citadel… and just a bloody icon when it came down to requesting aid from politicians.

She dismissively turned away, stepped out of the bathroom, and dressed in her usual outfit. The irony of wearing a Cerberus uniform after her last conversation with the Illusive Man didn't escape her notice.

"Joker, tell the team to assemble in the debriefing room, or whatever is left of it," said Shepard, going for the elevator.

"Aye, Aye, Commander."

She gave one last look to the document lying on the bedside table before stepping into the lift.

* * *

Mordin and Jacob were already in the room when she arrived, and the others joined them quickly soon afterwards, all except Garrus.

She took a moment to study the faces of her team members one by one. Some were tired, some unsure of their future, some practised enough at not showing their opinions. Not that it really mattered, because she knew behind those masks of indifference lay uncertainty and fear.

The door hissed open and Garrus entered the room, still wearing his damaged armour. If Shepard had been in a better mood, she would have made a remark about it. Not today, however.

Standing behind the half-broken table, she began speaking. "As you can see, this room is not as classy as usual, but there are some important things we need to talk about."

Garrus leaned on the furniture, making it crack further. "Is this about the 'blowing up the base' celebration? I vote for Afterlife. Good music. Good drinks. Besides, it will make Aria happy."

"I'm sure Forvan will be missed," Shepard added with distaste, remembering her poisoning incident. "We may be able to spare some time for a little aftermath party, but no getting drunk until this mission is over."

"Mission? Already?" the turian asked immediately, surprise evident in his voice. Shepard could tell the same question was on the minds of the other members as well.

"As you all know, our last client, the Illusive Man, was not very happy with the way we were handling the job, so now we're on our own. And I'm sure that none of you have forgotten about the Reapers. We don't know how much time we have left, but we can't risk waiting for long until they are at our very doorsteps."

This time, it was Jacob who proposed a question. "Do we have a plan, Commander?"

There was a pause.

"No, not a solid one for now."

It was an honest answer, a troubling truth that was too difficult to endure. But as always, she tried her best to give hope to her team, even though she knew that hope alone would not bring them victory. "The Reapers are powerful, but they are no gods. They can be destroyed, and if anyone can do it, it's us." She continued, "If we want to win this upcoming battle, we are going to need stronger equipment and better resources. I want to get access to all available world charts, locations, ship and weapons upgrades that exist in this galaxy… and any information that they've probably been hiding from us."

"So I take it this is an infiltration mission," Miranda guessed, curious about where the conversation was going.

Joker chimed in before Shepard could say anything. "Commander, you aren't planning on going onto another suicide mission, are you? Because the _Normandy_ is almost breaking into pieces."

"That is completely incorrect, Jeff," EDI replied.

Legion began checking his omni-tool. "Our analysis shows that the _Normandy_'s engine and computer systems have full functionality. A brief stop for acquiring the vital material should be sufficient."

"Oh, great. As if having one AI was not bad enough," the pilot complained sourly.

Garrus shook his head before looking back at Shepard. "So where is this place that we are going to infiltrate?"

She folded her arms, a faint mischievous smile appearing on her face.

"The Citadel, of course."


	2. Animus

**Animus**

They said it was being protected by the Serpent nebula, that the dense cloud was powerful, but harmless. She told them that it was exactly what they had named it: a serpent, quietly watching and waiting, circling its prey before making a final strike.

They said it was the greatest creation of the Protheans. They admired the race, some even worshipped them, but no one ever questioned their fate. 'The Protheans mysteriously went extinct 50,000 years ago.' That was what they kept telling everyone. That was what they wanted to believe.

"We're almost there," Joker interrupted her thoughts.

Shepard nodded, still watching the Citadel. She had a hard time believing they had let the Keepers rebuild it—those who had seen it's true nature. But that shouldn't have come as a surprise. Why expect more from them, when even Kaidan didn't believe her words?

_At least they restored my Spectre ranking._ It sounded comforting, but she knew it meant nothing outside Citadel space. It didn't mean much anymore inside Citadel space, either. Right now, it was just a fancy title.

"We're docked, Commander. Orders?"

"The crew is dismissed for twenty hours of shore leave," she replied before heading for the exit.

* * *

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Ma'am," was the usual apology of the turian officer as Shepard passed the scanner and entered the next area. Everything seemed as they had been the last time she'd visited this place, down to the turian shopkeeper recommending the Tummy Tingling sauce to all his customers.

Shepard waited opposite the entrance with her arms folded, watching the crew pass through the gate without any trouble… including Legion. So much for tightening up security against geth infiltration.

Garrus was the first to come and stand beside her. "All that time we spent warning people about geth attacks, and C-Sec still thinks Legion is some sort of mech. Brings a new level of meaning to 'oblivious'."

_Oblivious_ was not a strong enough word for describing the Council's unmindfulness. It seemed as if they lived in a completely different world—a world in which the capital of this galaxy had not almost fallen into the enemy's hands due to their incompetency.

Not wanting to concentrate on that matter now, Shepard faced her team to give a few concise orders. "Thane, Legion, and Garrus, you're coming with me. The rest of you are free to do as you please." She added, "Just try to keep a low profile."

"Shouldn't be difficult," Miranda replied.

"I'm going to have a look at the Presidium," mused Tali.

"See if you can find any useful upgrades while you're there," Shepard suggested. "And buy some armour for Garrus," were her last words to the quarian before she turned away and started walking towards the nearest transport station, slightly ahead of the group.

Hearing Garrus mumble something about the Commander's previous comment, the drell remarked, "It's a good thing that Shepard cares about the well-being of team members, mentally and physically."

"You know, Thane, you should spend more time praying to your gods," mentioned the turian.

"Why is that?"

"You should thank them for keeping you away from our mission to hunt down Saren Arterius." He added, "Back then, we had to buy new armour every day."

He received a questioning look from the assassin.

"What?" he asked sarcastically. "Shepard hasn't told you anything about her driving skill?"

"Very funny, Garrus." She glared at him before choosing their destination from the panel.

* * *

Unlike Zakera Ward, Chora's Den had gone through plenty of changes, to the point the location was almost unrecognisable. A strobe light here, a disco ball there, but the most distinct alteration was the floor-to-ceiling window gracing the opposite wall—a strange addition, indeed. One would think they'd prefer to keep things more private in a place like this. Apparently, the new human manager didn't care about such matters, and neither did Shepard. Sometimes, it was much easier to hide in plain sight.

"Hello." An asari leaned on Garrus as soon as they stepped inside the club. He brushed her away with subtle displeasure and turned to look at Shepard.

"Remind me again why we came here."

"It draws little attention," she casually answered.

"Indeed."

She glanced around curiously before heading to an empty table near the window, in the far corner of the club. It was more crowded than usual, but not too much to ruin their privacy.

"I never thought being with C-Sec was going to pay off," said Garrus as he took a seat in front of Shepard. "My father would be overjoyed if he found out."

She leaned in. "So, what can you tell me about the Citadel's Database Tower?"

He checked to see if anyone was near enough to overhear before continuing. "I think you'd like the ventilation system. It runs through all the buildings in this Ward. We can use it to get into the lower levels… if we manage to breach the security."

"Legion should be able to hack through it," she said confidently.

"We do not have the necessary information for anticipating the precise pattern of its code," the geth replied.

Shepard leaned back in her chair. Working with the Illusive Man had many downsides, but at least one benefit: they never had to worry about obtaining intelligence.

She shifted her attention back to Garrus. "Where exactly is the location of the main server?"

"That's a good question. I don't know."

"Not exactly what I wanted to hear," she murmured, leaning back in her chair.

Thane quietly stood up and wandered to the window, staring out, deep in thought. It was several seconds later when Garrus broke the silence. "Maybe EDI can provide us with the blueprint."

Legion protested, "Not recommended. The probability of setting off alarms by intervention is high."

Garrus ran his hand over his face in frustration. "We can't be seen by anyone. We can't use our firearms. We can't trigger any alarms. We don't have a map. And we can't use our omni-tools to take a damn picture, because the security will be all over us."

"That's why I like to do things the classic way." Shepard made no attempt to hide her half-smile.

Thane turned away from the window and slightly bowed his head at Garrus. "Drell have perfect memory."

The turian looked back at his Commander with a hint of amusement. "I should have known it wasn't for the strippers."

The conversation was cut short when an asari came near their table. _Speaking of the devil,_ Shepard thought.

"Hi. Want company?"

"We are not looking for entertainment," Legion quickly replied.

The asari came closer. "Is that so?" she teased. "But you look so lonely."

The unblinking wooden stare she received in response was more than enough to unnerve her.

"I… I think I should go," she apologised and left their table.

It wasn't long before Thane returned to his seat, with his usual air of professionalism. "I'm done."

"I'm still not very comfortable with this idea," said Garrus. "It's the Citadel we're talking about."

"It shouldn't be harder than infiltrating a Collector base," the drell commented humorlessly. "Not to mention the security systems here are riddled with flaws."

"Good to know," said Shepard offhand. "So, now that we have that part sorted out, we can talk about-"

"We suggest moving to Flux, located in the Upper Wards," Legion interrupted, gaze fixed on something behind her.

She raised an eyebrow before glancing over her shoulder. Another asari was moving in their direction… They never knew when to stop, did they.

Standing up, she exhaled in mild annoyance. "Move out."


	3. Intrusion

**Intrusion**

The three heavily armoured turians checked the locks on every door in the long hallway.

"Everything looks fine on this level," one of them said into his headset as they passed through a set of airlocks and left the corridor.

The undisturbed quiet lasted for only a few seconds before Thane removed the vent and lowered himself from the shaft. He scanned the area, and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, signaled to his Commander and two other companions. Shepard was the first to drop down, and without wasting any time, moved to the door on her right. A glance at its keypad and she knew it was locked.

"Hack it," she ordered Legion, taking a step aside from the panel.

The geth began typing commands on the console, and the door hissed open some moments later, revealing a dimly lit storage area filled with crates of various sizes. When Garrus was done with replacing the ventilation lid, they continued inside and closed the door behind them, making sure the lock was once again functional.

"The window should be on the far left side. Ten o'clock," Thane stated in a low voice.

They had to squeeze their way past the containers to reach the other side of the room. The window was where he had said it would be, its opening mechanism connected to an alarm system—not too sophisticated that Shepard couldn't handle with her own hacking expertise. When the alarm was disabled, she opened the window. The drop below was dizzying, but she tried her best to ignore it and looked up in search of another entry point to the higher levels. There was supposed to be another airlock somewhere above.

Locating the structure, she took out her grappling hook, aimed at the barrier and shot. When she was certain the device could hold her weight, she attached the other end of the wire to her armour before climbing out of the window and making her way up to the newfound entrance. The others followed suit soon afterwards. When they reached their destination, Legion connected a small digital device to the metal barrier and proceeded to type in commands. It wasn't long before the red light on the equipment changed to green with a low beep.

"Alarms disabled in section D," informed the geth. "Time remaining: thirty minutes."

"Let's make sure we're not around when they come back on," remarked Shepard, opening the airlock. It gave them access to another hallway, similar to the ones on the lower floors: long, with a junction leading to the elevator. They entered and cautiously made their way to the main office. Casting a final glance at the empty corridor behind, Shepard unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The room was dark and she had to flick on her torch to make out the furniture. Rows of desks became visible, each of them equipped with state of the art computers.

"See if you can find the server's location," she told the others, then turned on the nearest machine and began searching through its files. They contained lists of shipments, overall information about the population, and some documents about the recent 'geth attack' on the Citadel. Her mouth slightly twisted with distaste. Reading things like this made her regret saving the Council.

She switched off the computer and moved to the next one.

"Here," Thane broke the silence, eyes fixed on the hologram of the building before him. "They are on the next level."

"Take a copy of the map. We might need it later," said Shepard, moving to his side.

Seeing as they had obtained what they needed, Garrus switched off the computer he had been checking and walked out of the room to scan the corridor outside. He rushed back inside after a second and locked the door, leaning on it as if that gesture alone would stop it from being opened again.

"Security coming this way! We need to get out of here, now!"

They started to hastily turn off all the computers, all too aware of the sound of footsteps.

"How did they find out?!" Shepard hissed.

"They have not," was Legion's hushed response. "Routine patrol."

When all the machines were switched off, they surveyed the room for an escape route. No windows. No alternative entrances.

Pointing the beam of her torch upwards at the ceiling, Shepard saw the vent running along the office.

"Help me up!" she told Garrus. He ran to her side and lifted her up so she could reach the shaft above. She opened it and crawled inside, then pulled up Garrus and the other team members. The passage was darker and narrower than the ones they had used to get inside the tower, but for the moment, she didn't care.

"Where does this lead?" asked Thane.

She replied, "I don't know. Just keep moving."

"Let's hope we don't end up in the security quarters," the turian quipped.

It was after a minute of going through the duct's twists and turns that they reached its end. Shepard paused, checking her omni-tool's radar. It showed no hostile activities in the immediate area; nevertheless, she listened carefully before opening the vent, and hearing no suspicious sounds, she lowered herself down. It didn't take longer than a heartbeat for her to understand where their temporary shelter actually was.

"That was close," said Garrus as he dropped down.

"Nobody makes a move…" Shepard slowly whispered, gaze not straying from the rows of inactive heavy mechs stored in the hall.

"If any of these starts working, we're dead before getting arrested," Thane noted.

It was Garrus who spotted the set of stairs leading to a gate, positioned exactly on the opposite side of the large room. Reaching it by walking past the mechs was not an option. They had been fortunate the drones had not come online the moment they'd entered the chamber, but Shepard did not want to test their luck further. 'Luck' generally didn't seem to be on their side, if today's incidents were to be considered.

With that in mind, she switched on the anti-gravity system of her armour, and cautiously started climbing up the nearest wall, making her way up to the high ceiling. The other members of the group proceeded to do the same, as quiet as possible. She had assumed watching the ground from the window a few levels below had been a dizzying experience. She'd been wrong. Hanging upside-down while wearing medium armour and carrying heavy weapons, with sweat running down her face and blood pooling in her brain, was a completely different and excruciating ordeal. It wasn't reassuring that they had to traverse another hundred feet to reach the airlock, either.

She paused briefly, trying to catch her breath and calm her nerves. It didn't help much as the tension was caused by high blood pressure and not stress.

"Shepard?" It was Thane.

She tried her best reassuring voice. "I'm okay."

She hadn't taken more than a dozen steps when one of the thermal clips strapped to her belt loosened. "Dammit!" she cursed, trying to catch the object as it slipped, her fingers closing on empty air.

They watched in horror as the cylindrical object hit the stairs below and toppled all the way down to the floor, slowly rolling until it hit a heavy mech. The machine snapped up and aimed its guns at the item for some seconds, then scanned the area to its left, then to its right… before going back to stand-by mode again.

Shepard exhaled slowly, not realizing that she had been holding her breath the whole time, and then continued to move ahead, the recent incident serving as an incentive for her to fasten her pace. It was only when they reached the safety of the corridor outside the storage room that they momentarily dropped their guard.

"I think my head is exploding," remarked Garrus, with one hand to his forehead.

"You're not alone," Shepard said.

Finding the main server's location was not very difficult, since it was on the same level as the storage chamber. No wonder they kept that many mechs on this floor.

"Sensors disabled in section A," informed Legion after attaching a hacking device to the wall. Shepard gave a slight nod in reply, surveying the environment. Their destination was at the end of the long, empty hallway ahead, behind a set of double doors. Too easy…

Ever so carefully, she took out a thermal clip and gently tossed it forward. The object didn't even get to touch the ground before being evaporated.

"Invisible lasers…" Thane murmured.

The search for the control panel to disable the trap lasted shortly. It was positioned on the opposite wall, right next to the gates leading to the server's room, accessible only by passing through the corridor.

Shepard looked down at her omni-tool's countdown timer: only twelve minutes left. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Legion activating his geth shield booster and breaking into a sprint to the panel.

"Legion!" she hissed sharply, her hand grabbing out to stop him, a second too late.

The lasers damaged the shield as he raced down the hallway, and the temporary protection became completely destroyed by the time he reached the other side of the corridor.

"Come back here! Now!"

He paid no attention, typing rapidly on the keypad, trying to bypass the security. His primary shield dropped, the heat of the laser slowly changing the colour of his armour, from its usual dark grey to orange, then to red. With moments to go before the lasers cut through, the geth managed to switch off the trap.

"Done." He turned to face Shepard, who was crossing the hallway, glaring at him.

"Don't ignore my orders." She held his gaze, waiting for a confirmation.

"Acknowledged," he nodded.

Aware that they didn't have much time to waste, Shepard entered the next hall, taking note of the emergency exit to her right.

The chamber contained more than a hundred servers. She might have paused to regard them in fascination, _if_ this wasn't a mission and they weren't there on business. The main server was located on the far side of the room and conveniently larger than the rest, making it easier to find. Following her unspoken command, the geth quickly established a connection to the data processor and began hacking the firewalls. A rectangular hologram appeared on top of the console the moment he gained access to the database.

He read the texts quickly as they displayed on the screen. "It contains noticeable amount of junk bits. We can extract the useful data."

"We don't have time. Just download the whole thing," she replied.

"Proceeding…"

She moved to Thane, who was checking the other servers with Garrus. "Keep an eye on the lift." He nodded and broke off from the group.

Shepard returned to the main database where the geth was contemplatively reading the information appearing on the hologram, his facial plates moving slightly—a gesture she associated with both concentration and something very like curiosity.

"Anything interesting?" she asked, taking a closer look at the display. They lines moved too fast for her to perceive them, and soon she gave up on understanding the symbols.

He idly ran a finger over a part of the text. "Hidden encrypted data with unfamiliar coding patterns, of unknown origin."

"You mean they don't know it exists here? Or someone, aside from the personnel, is storing information on these servers?" she asked, eyes narrowing inquisitively.

There was a low beep as the download completed. He disabled the connection with the server, removed his hack, and turned to Shepard.

"Both."

A subtle frown appeared on her forehead as countless possibilities came to the forefront of her mind, but she decided it was not wise to linger here and debate on the matter. With that conclusion, she told the others to leave everything as it had previously been and head for the gate.

Opening the door, she almost bumped into Thane.

"The elevator is coming up," he stated in between breaths.

She checked the display above the lift, and sure enough, the transportation device was ascending to their location.

"To the rooftop," she said before going to the emergency exit and racing up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She did not count how many levels they went up before reaching an airlock. When it slid back, the vast rooftop of the tower came to view, and she ran across it, coming to a halt when she reached the edge of the building. Desperately searching the area below in hope of finding an escape route, she found none.

"What now?" questioned Garrus, catching up with her.

Scanning their surroundings, her eyes fell on the hotel on the opposite side.

"Estimated height difference: 250 metres," Legion commented when she drew out her grappling hook.

"I guess we have to run down a little," she replied, activating the anti-gravity system of her armour yet again.

* * *

"I'm surprised they haven't used any kind of alarms on the windows," Thane said as soon as they stepped out of the hotel's elevator.

Shepard glanced around the reception area before heading to the entrance. "They didn't expect anyone to dive through them," she responded wryly.

Outside, everything seemed natural. C-Sec was still patrolling the streets, as nonchalant and ignorant as ever. She stopped for the briefest of moments to regard the tower in front of her, standing imperiously in the middle of the district, before walking to the transport station of the Ward. She could almost hear the faint music coming from Chora's Den.

Garrus looked over his shoulder. "I wish we could plant a bomb in there. Such a shame," he said with fake dismay.

"Save it for the Council chamber." She smirked, calling a cab to get them back to the _Normandy_.


	4. Trace

**Trace**

Eden Prime. She had heard it was like a heaven, a place of ultimate beauty and perfection. She stepped on the planet and the welcome she received left her momentarily speechless. Synthetic beings that shot people on sight, torturing spikes which turned their living victims into mindless husks, and additional undead roaming the area. She did not know what to make of it. However, she was sure of one thing: this was not a paradise.

The Beacon. It was supposed to lend her guidance, but it felt like she was stepping deeper and deeper into the darkness.

The Vision. For so long she thought the message was only about death and destruction. Too late she realized the true fate of the victims, was an inevitable indoctrination.

Shepard put the datapad on the table. The brief summary of her first mission aboard SSV _Normandy_ did nothing but bring back unsettling memories. She took a sip from her steaming cup of coffee and looked around the mess-room.

Mordin was sitting on the other side of the table, and still talking—to whom, she was not sure. Thane and Garrus were eating, which she thought should have been difficult while listening to Mordin's disturbing speech about stomach flu and its symptoms in different species.

_'Just don't get him talking. He never shuts up,_' was what Aria had told her about the doctor when they first met, and Shepard had to agree with her. She couldn't clearly remember how the conversation started about thirty minutes ago.

"…Inflammation of stomach. Small and large intestines. Infection caused by a variety of viruses. Results in vomiting or diarrhea. Or both. Also, found similar symptoms caused by parasites. Or by medication. Or other medical conditions-"

"How long can you use organic vocal hardware?" Legion interrupted the professor, looking up from his datapad.

"Long time. Question?"

The geth stared blankly for some seconds, then resumed reading. "No."

Mordin cleared his throat. "Where was I? Yes, symptoms! Headache, fever, and abdominal cramps. And of course, watery diarrhea and vomiting. Lots of vomiting. Vomit dangerous! Virus spreads through contamination with stool or vomitus." He appeared to be deep in thought. "Also noticed blood in some samples collected from the bathroom floor in the Citadel…"

Thane sighed and slowly pushed away his plate containing the half-eaten food.

Garrus dropped his fork with a clatter. "_Thank_ you Mordin. We're eating," he said, pointing at the food in front of him.

Mordin paused, trying to find another subject on which to converse.

"Can talk about scientific results regarding sexually transmitted diseases between turian and varren," he began again.

Legion replied offhand, "Not logically possible. According to extranet data sources, the diameter of turian's-"

"I'm just going to eat over there—on the counter." Garrus grabbed his plate and left the table.

A half-smile appeared on Shepard's lips at that reaction, but she made no further comments and gave the datapad that she was reading to Tali, before picking up a new one. It contained hardware descriptions of an unfinished heavy weapon, along with schematics of the engine—a nice change after all the useless mission reports, Citadel population information, and lengthy shipment lists she had been reading for half an hour. The weapon project had been abandoned. The technical team behind it had concluded that the need of expensive resources and the repetitive failures of prototype models did not make completion worth pursuing.

"Found a more interesting topic: humans! Genetically diverse. Wide variation of hair colour. Skin colour. Eye colour. Colour in general! Amazing ability to adapt. Lifespan not too short, not too long. Incredible balance in everything! Impressive desire to understand and influence environment. Seeking to explain. To manipulate." He put a finger to his lip in contemplation. "Must go visit Earth personally one day."

"I hope you're not planning on harvesting humans like Collectors, Mordin?" Shepard joked.

"No. Organic life is fascinating. Lots of potential." He turned to Legion. "Synthetics too. Must try to find. Curiosity leads to development. Advancement."

"Earlier attempts at 'unlocking potential' resulted in harsh reactions from the Creators," the geth replied, still reading the document in front of him.

Tali angrily lowered her datapad, hitting the table. "_Harsh reactions_? You slaughtered our people!"

He regarded her. "We only killed in self-defense."

"Do you chase us across the galaxy in self-defense as well?"

"Geth rarely leave the Perseus Veil, Creator Zorah," he replied matter-of-factly.

Tali opened her mouth to protest, but the Commander spoke first: "I thought you two had parleyed."

Her stern reminder ended their argument, as quickly as it had begun. Shepard just hoped they wouldn't start dueling on the ship again while she was away. She shook her head, knowing that the tension between them was nothing in comparison to the bigger issue between the geth and the quarian. She had been travelling across the galaxy, asking and sometimes even pleading for reinforcement for the fight against the Reapers. Apparently, people thought the best time for waging war and settling their personal grudges was when all galactic life was on the verge of annihilation.

The hall was quiet for some minutes.

"Have you checked those heavy weapon sketches? I thought Cain was the best thing in this galaxy," Garrus said as he returned to the table and took a seat in front of her.

"It seems to be much more powerful." She looked up from the datapad. "Too bad it explodes in your face the first time you pull the trigger."

"Yeah, that's the downside."

Shepard turned to Tali and Legion. "I want you two to study these schematics and see if you can remove the flaws." She added, "And please make sure you are both unarmed when you're working together."

They exchanged glances.

"We'll keep it civilized," the quarian said.

Shepard grabbed her cup of coffee and stood up. "EDI, let me know when you are done decrypting that data."

"Of course, Shepard," she heard the AI's reply before stepping into the elevator.

* * *

Time had a tendency to pass slower than usual when she was waiting for results. She settled on reading the archived messages on her private terminal again. Funny how most of them were from random people that she had met during her journey. They seemed to care more for the stability of her mental state, than some of her old friends.

Heaving a sigh, she walked to her empty aquarium and stared at it, eyes passive.

"Shepard," EDI's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Is the data ready?" she asked, returning to her desk.

"I'm still working on it. However, I have found something interesting in the process of decoding the document. There was a concealed file about dark energy stored on the servers."

"Was?"

"It had been removed exactly one week ago, after we used the Omega-4 relay," the AI replied.

That sounded troubling, because she knew it couldn't be a coincidence. "Where's the original file now?"

"I do not know. I only managed to extract the word 'Arcane' from what's left of the data."

"Probably a pseudonym," Shepard commented, frowning slightly as she gave her full attention to what EDI was saying.

"It is a possibility. I do not have any information regarding the location _or_ the real identity of this person, or secret organization."

"I think I can handle it from here," she said before getting up to grab her usual black armour from the locker.

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator, Shepard greeted Kelly and picked up the datapad containing a summary of the crew's overall state. She was slowly walking to the exit, observing the information, when the sound of an argument coming from the armoury made her stop. She looked up from the file.

_Not again…_ She exhaled in mild frustration and headed to the armoury.

The door automatically opened when she approached it, revealing a scene that made her stop.

Tali and Legion were in the middle of what she could only call a catfight. He was holding something up in one hand, while keeping Tali as far away from himself as he could with the other. The quarian muttered a string of expletives as she stood on her toes and tried to snatch the object from his hand. Focused on their struggle, neither of them noticed the Commander as she came into the room.

"What _exactly_ is going on in here?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.

They stopped their skirmish, startled by her interruption.

Tali folded her arms. "It keeps arguing over a capacitor."

"Tali'Zorah insists on attaching the device to the PCB. That will create an arc leading to a catastrophic failure," Legion quickly defended.

"It will _not_," she said, using the brief distraction to snatch the object from between his fingers. She turned back to the table and began to connect it to the board. "Just watch…"

Legion took a step back and activated his geth shield. Moments passed, but nothing happened. The quarian turned around proudly and looked at the geth, who tilted his head a little in response.

The sudden explosion made Shepard jolt instinctively.

She waved a hand to clear the dust and smoke away from her face and clear her vision. "Obviously, having a geth and a quarian work together was not a very good idea."

"I agree," Tali sighed. "Legion can handle this project alone anyway."

The Commander nodded. "You can go back to the engine deck."

The quarian shrugged. "Sure."

Shepard looked at Legion. "Grab your weapons and meet me outside."

"Acknowledged," he replied.

Jacob rushed into the room, almost bumping into Shepard. "What the hell was that?" he asked, gaze fixed on the broken table.

"A little bonfire. Nothing to worry about," she answered, turning away to exit the room.


	5. Coincidence

**Coincidence**

The brief meeting with Liara was not as helpful as she had hoped, especially after all the trouble they'd gone through on the Citadel to gain access to the information.

''They are very good at covering up their tracks,'' the asari had said as she'd given a datapad to Shepard. It contained a grainy photo and a list of names. Contacts and witnesses who were no longer alive, including Arcane.

The elevator came to a stop. Shepard stepped out and crossed the vast luxurious hall. 'A jewel in the galaxy', she'd heard it once in an advertisement. Maybe to others, but not to her. She knew Illium was just another dangerous planet, hiding behind a glamorous mask.

"I thought you wanted to bring Samara," Garrus said as they reached a transport station.

Shepard tapped her fingers lightly on the panel, trying to decide their next destination. "I had to change that decision after watching the play in the armoury."

After that day's incident, leaving the geth and quarian alone on the ship would have been begging for trouble. She did not question Tali's mistrust of Legion. He was ambiguous, secretive, mysterious, quiet… _And a geth_, she mentally added to her long list of suspicions about him. The convenient solution of rewriting the Heretics had been a revelation, one which didn't help his case. That was, of course, if such a group truly existed. Perhaps it was a good idea to be on her guard when he was around… and when he wasn't.

She called for a cab to take them back to the _Normandy_. "I didn't expect a dead lead. At least we have a photo."

"Of a logo that Liara _suspects_ might have something to do with them," the turian added to her comment.

He was right. The content of that datapad was scanty.

"Still, better than nothing. We just have to find a way to get more information about it."

Garrus joked, "We can contact the Shadow Broker."

"I'm sure he'll be eager to hear from me," mused Shepard. After finding out about his little arrangement to retrieve and hand her body to the Collectors, she was no longer thrilled to rely on him—or them.

The cab arrived and they started walking towards it. Glancing around the hall, Legion stopped as something caught his attention. He stepped forward to take a closer look, then quickly patted Shepard on the shoulder, eye still fixed on the other side. She turned around and he nodded toward the cargo transport area on the lower level in response to her questioning expression.

The workers were putting several large containers into a ship. One of the crates bore a familiar logo. Shepard didn't have to check the datapad's photo to know they were identical.

"I think we've been blessed," she remarked before heading to the stairs and going down, signaling to the squad to follow her. She put a finger to her earpiece. "Joker, we're going to have a little ride. Do you have our location on the map?"

"Nice and clear, Commander."

"Good. Turn on the stealth systems and follow us," she said, reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"Aye, Aye."

Unsurprisingly, the public was not allowed in the cargo area. She paused, taking a moment to observe the set of double doors on the opposite side.

"You realize they aren't going to let us walk inside?" Garrus voiced what she was going through her mind.

She made her way to the doors, barely brushing past a salarian worker that was checking the content of a shipment. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure that no one else was around, she raised her right hand for the other two to see. There was a security card between her fingers.

"Stealing, Shepard?" asked Garrus with amusement.

"Just borrowing it," she answered dryly, and slid the ID through the card reader. The red light on the door turned to green, and they checked to make sure they had not been seen before going inside and making their way to the suspicious ship.

* * *

"Watch out, you clam brain!" the leader snapped at one of the mercenaries who had accidentally knocked a crate to the ground.

Shepard used the brief distraction to sneak out of the ship's cargo hold. Taking cover behind one of the many containers in the area, she cautiously glanced at what appeared to be an old abandoned factory—a temporary place for checking the shipments and then sending them to their final destination.

The three quietly listened on the conversation between the mercenaries, who were discussing plans about smuggling the cargo off world. Yellow armour…

"Eclipse?" Garrus asked, surprised.

"Probably just a hired gun force," was her reply.

It wasn't long before the conversation between the mercenaries was over, with no mention of the real client. Knowing that there was only one way to gain more information, Shepard took a moment to scan the area, before turning to her two companions, a sly smile on her lips.

"Gentlemen… Let us begin."

And with that, she came out from their cover, raised her gun and shot the explosive barrels near the mercenary group.

Several minutes later, all that was left of the Eclipse forces were corpses lying here and there, sprawled in various positions on the floor or slumped against the walls. She couldn't remember ever entering a place and not making a mess of it.

Standing before the entrance of an office, she turned to Garrus and pointed to the door on the left with the barrel of her gun. "Check the other room."

He nodded and broke off from the group. She entered the office, with Legion bringing up the rear. After flicking on the light switch, she made her way to the lockers on the opposite side and began methodically searching through the document files. Legion pulled a small crate out from under a desk in the far corner and searched its contents. It contained nothing of importance. He left it where it was and checked the desk drawers instead, finding nothing more than paperclips and pens. Taking a seat behind the desk, he turned on the only computer that was present in the rooms and went through the folders.

Not satisfied with the result of her search, Shepard closed the locker and walked to the geth.

"See if you can find anything about dark energy," she said, looking over his shoulder.

He slowly shook his head. "Only overall freight information and machinery schematics," he explained without taking his eye from the display.

A file caught her eye. "Open that one," she said, pointing at it.

He did as she asked and a brief description of a huge Element Zero shipment appeared on the screen. Her brow slightly furrowed in contemplation. "Why would they need that much eezo?"

Legion took a moment to study the data. "Possibly for powering a massive structure." He corrected, "Extremely massive."

"Take a copy of it, just in case."

He looked up. "Already done."

In answer, she gave him a faint smile and then turned to leave the room in search of Garrus. She didn't have to try hard as he stepped into the hallway himself, carrying a small datapad.

"Where did you get that?" Shepard asked, grabbing the document from him and checking it.

"An unfortunate Eclipse member," he replied.

She read the text on her way to the double doors at the end of the corridor, but to her disappointment, found no mention of the final destination of the cargo.

The doors automatically opened as she approached them, giving them access to an open area. She immediately scanned the place out of habit, thinking of combat tactics. The crates and containers that were positioned here and there could offer some temporary protection should the need arise.

Shepard put a finger to her earpiece. "Joker, we're done here. Send the… Joker?… Joker!"

No response.

"Great." With arms folded, she faced her companions. "No matter how much technology advances, we always have communication problems."

Garrus looked back at the locked gate they had previously passed through. "Stuck in a factory full of dead bodies… I'm happy we aren't living in some sort of survival horror game."

"We're living in a survival horror reality."

As they stood there, trying to think of a way to get out, a low beep from Legion's omni-tool broke the silence.

"Sensors picking unusual statics."

"The zombies are coming," the turian joked. Receiving an unamused look from the geth, he continued, "You've been getting that for over an hour. Shouldn't be anything serious…"

It was the echoing stomping sound that interrupted his speech. Hands cautiously moving to their weapons, they turned in the direction of the source. A heavy mech stepped from behind the containers and raised its arm at them.

"Oh… crap," was all the turian managed to say before it launched a missile.

They spun around and sprinted to the crates behind them, vaulted over the objects and crouched behind them, dodging the missile by inches. The rocket hit the wall in front of them, leaving a huge circular hole in the surface.

"This is new," Shepard said loudly over the sound of gunfire.

Legion pulled out his sniper. "Unusual statics," he reminded.

"Yeah, you can brag about it later." The turian turned to his Commander. "Use Cain."

She would have, if she could.

"Out of ammo," she replied, tightening her grip on her assault rifle.

There was a long pause in the attack. The three of them looked at each other, alarmed, then ran away from their cover. It exploded into pieces a moment later.

Shepard took position behind the nearest container on her left, Garrus joining her a second later. The machine advanced toward their new hiding place.

"Where is Legion?" she asked.

The geth answered through the squad communication channel, "Two o'clock. Far right corner."

She leaned out of cover just enough to see his position. Pushing the only explosive barrel in the area, he aimed his weapon. When it stopped rolling just a metre away from the mech, he pulled the trigger, causing a brief inferno. The machine stepped out of the fire, undamaged, and launched another rocket in his direction.

"Problematic." He rolled to the crate on his right, turning on his geth shield.

Using the distraction, Shepard stood up and fired at the target. Its shield deflected all of her shots. This futile attempt at attacking only resulted in bringing its attention back toward them.

She ducked, dodging the bullets by a fraction. "Overload, Garrus!"

"I'm doing it non-stop! It just keeps regenerating!"

They cautiously glanced at the hostile before quickly crouching again. Another missile hit their cover a second later, the force causing parts of it to shatter.

"We need a little help here, Legion," said Shepard, ejecting a spent heatsink.

"Analysing target for weaknesses…" he replied, deploying his combat drone.

"I'll keep it busy. You just shoot." And with that, she turned away and charged to containers far from her squad. The mech started spraying bullets in her direction, advancing slowly.

"Analysis complete. Target has a noticeably low health. Only defense system is the shield. A force of ten thousand Newtons is needed to reduce it, and disable further regeneration-"

Garrus cut across him, "Shepard, I'm out of heatsinks."

"Dammit!"

Realising that her cover was about to be destroyed, Shepard clutched her gun and looked around desperately, trying to find an escape route.

* * *

The gun clicked again, indicating that it was out of heatsink.

Legion crouched behind the container and took out a new thermal clip. He gaze shifted to the mech, then to the last clip lying in his palm.

Coming to a decision, he reloaded the sniper and left his position.

* * *

Not being able to resist the gunfire, her cover crumbled. Shepard quickly charged away from the bullets, raised her rifle, and fired at the target during the short time it took for the mech to turn and aim at her again. She sprinted the remaining distance to the nearest containers, with bullets sending up sprays of gravel around her fleeing feet. She vaulted over the obstacle and took shelter behind it, breathing heavily. Drops of sweat formed on her forehead and she brushed them away with the back of her hand before reloading her gun. Leaning against the crate, she listened to the sound of gunfire, waiting for a break, an opportunity for her to attack again.

There was a pause.

She stood up and emptied the clip on the mech. It raised its arm to fire a missile at her, but then halted, sensing movements behind it. The machine turned to check the disturbance, stopping when its head came into direct contact with the end of a sniper barrel. It attempted to aim at Legion, but didn't manage to lift its weapon before the geth pulled the trigger. The mech's head exploded and the remaining body parts collapsed to the ground.

Wasting no time, Legion ran to Shepard and vaulted over the container. "Crouch!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

The powerful explosion started soon after, with blasts violently spreading the flames outwards. It was about ten seconds later before the fire died down, leaving a charred skeleton of most of the crates placed in the courtyard. Glad that their cover was still standing, she let out a sigh of relief, the adrenaline slowly draining from her system. She turned to Legion to ask about his sudden appearance, when he raised his left hand, a memory card held between his fingers.

"A quick learner, are you?" She smiled slyly, holding out a hand for him.

Keeping her gaze, he dropped the object into her open palm.

The low beep from her omni-tool was what broke the relative silence. "Commander? Are you there?"

"I hear you, Joker," she answered.

"We temporarily lost you after an FTL jump."

"Send the shuttle to pick us up," she ordered, standing up. A subtle frown appeared on her features when she took in their surroundings. "Where is Garrus?" she asked the geth.

He didn't have to reply. The turian appeared from behind a box on the far side of the area, his armour smoking.

"Can you inform me the next time you want to create a nuke?"


	6. Untruth

**Untruth**

"I see you took Jacob seriously when he said you have to clean your handiwork."

Legion looked up at Shepard, who was leaning against the doorway of the armoury. She stepped inside and gazed around. The place looked a mess, with dust and smoke settling on every surface. The only thing that didn't look dirty was the new table that he'd recently brought up from the cargo hold.

He made to stand respectfully when she came further into the room. She motioned for him to sit down.

"Go on." Grabbing the cloth that lay on the table, she continued, "I'm just killing time until EDI finishes scanning the memory you took from that heavy mech." She turned to a wall and started cleaning it. He watched her for some moments before going back to his previous task of attaching the table legs to the floor.

'Killing time' was not her real reason for coming to the armoury, of course. She wanted to pry some answers from him. He had joined their team about two weeks ago—a decision that had created a great discomfort aboard the _Normandy_—and so far, he had done a very good job of avoiding questions. The only exception was a short conversation in the AI Core when he'd opened up and talked about the geth's future.

And she wished he hadn't.

"How did you get out of the Veil?" Shepard asked. "Not the usual 'cuddling up and getting into a box', I hope?"

"No," was his monotonous reply.

She didn't expect an explanation, so it came as no surprise when he didn't give one. She hadn't had the courtesy of talking to other geth before shooting them. Whether being secretive was a common trend of the race or just his personal preference, she had no idea.

_Personal_… Shepard snorted inwardly at her ironic choice of word. The idea of many sentient programmes looking and observing her at the same time was still difficult to grasp.

"Do you have to build consensus for every action you take?" she asked, still rubbing the dirty surface of the wall.

He did not stop his work, either. "If it is significant, yes."

"You told me before you are about a thousand geth living in this body."

"Yes."

She glanced over her shoulder. "How does it feel?"

He got up and put the screwdriver he was holding on the table. "Sharing a certain platform?"

"Constantly speaking with others to come to a decision."

His gaze remained on his reflection on the cold, metallic surface of the table. "We have to rely on each other for gaining intelligence. A single geth is no smarter than a VI program," said Legion by way of a reply.

And with that, the room fell back into silence.

"How do you build consensus?"

Shepard turned to him, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. It wasn't everyday that he decided to continue conversations that were seemingly over. He registered her surprised state, and waited, expecting her to answer. And she did.

"I don't have a complete knowledge of the human neural system. You might want to try asking Doctor Chakwas," she replied at length. "I just… think."

He appeared to be contemplating, and she didn't have to ask him to know that he was reviewing her usual behavior.

"The amount of time greatly varies for reaching different conclusions."

"We are mostly driven by emotions."

He mused, "It ought to be overpowering to render organic logic unproductive."

"It is," she murmured, her gaze abstract.

His brow-plates moved downwards slightly into a faint frown. "Data indicates known sentient organic species undergo a characteristic cycle of brain-wave activity during their 'sleep', which includes intervals of dreaming."

"They do." She waited to see where he was going with this topic.

"How does it appear to a slumbering observer?" And then, when she looked at him inquiringly, he clarified: "Dreaming."

That wasn't a question Shepard encountered regularly. Anyone she'd interacted with before had been able to experience it themselves.

"It's strange," she began. "Vivid and vague at the same time. A mix of truths and lies in the form of cryptic images or visions."

"How do you distinguish it from the reality?"

"I can't. Not until I wake up."

He was quiet for some moments.

"Is it a comforting experience?"

"Comfort…" Shepard snorted softly. Her voice was tinged with a coldness that wasn't meant for him. "I have almost forgotten its meaning."

Life had lost its joyful colour the day she sat foot on Eden Prime. Perhaps it had been even before then, on Mindoir… or when she'd realised she and her entire unit had become mere subjects for Cerberus. Being resurrected by the same organisation seemed like a twisted joke.

Shepard sighed. "I think I'm done with scrubbing the walls."

She put the cloth on the table and was about to leave the room when something came to her mind. She stopped. "You asked a lot of questions about organics. I guess it's fair that I gain more insight on synthetic logic as well."

He nodded in agreement. "Specify."

She turned to him, face impassive. "How about we start with the real reason for not fixing your armour?"

He was taken aback. It was shown in his expression, but he quickly regained his cool composure.

EDI interrupted: "I've managed to find the final destination of the cargo from the friend/foe system installed on the memory. The location has been uploaded to the map."

"Tell Garrus to meet me in the hangar bay," Shepard told the AI, her eyes not leaving Legion's.

"Understood."

She held his gaze for a long time waiting for a response, but he stayed quiet. Just as she had anticipated.

"No data available," she said, repeating his own phrase in a 'just-as-I-expected' tone, and it was enough to remind him of his earlier unreasonable attempt to evade the same question.

She turned away and walked to the exit. "You can come to the mission if you want," Shepard said from the doorway, her voice hollow. She lingered long enough to see Legion nod in assent, then stepped out, leaving him alone in the room and contemplating about her behaviour.


	7. Haunted

**Haunted**

Enormous.

It was the first thing that came to her mind as she stared out of the shuttle's window to regard the station—simple in design, advanced in technology, and hidden in the depths of an un-mapped nebula, perfectly obscured from the rest of the galaxy.

"I think we know where all that eezo went," Shepard told the geth without looking away from their destination.

She programmed the shuttle to approach one of the minor docking bays, concluding that there would be less chance of drawing attention and setting off unwanted alarms if they entered from a more secluded area. When they stepped into the hallway, she immediately felt a churning unease grip her. The corridor was dark and oddly cold, with datapads lying all over the floor. Her gaze moved up to the opposite wall. It was covered in dried bloodstains.

The sharp hiss of the airlock behind them broke the dreadful silence, and they turned to the barrier as it closed. The bloody handprints on its surface did nothing but intensify the unsettling feeling.

"Is this how they treat intruders?" asked Garrus, staring at the scene before him.

She didn't know how the inhabitants of this station dealt with trespassers, but leaving their remains unattended for days in a facility like this was definitely not part of the procedure. "Something is definitely wrong with this place," she murmured, eyes scanning the long, shadowy corridor and all the closed doors on each side.

Raising her trusty shotgun, she cautiously moved to the double doors at the end of the hallway, with her two companions following close behind. A glance at the control panel was enough to know that the gateway was locked. She turned to Legion and he nodded in response to her unspoken command before walking to the console. He typed without saying a word for a while, brow-plates frowning a little as he gave his full attention to what he was doing.

"Difficulty maintaining connection with the local mainframe," he said, still trying to bypass the firewalls.

Shepard raised a hand to her earpiece. "We need a little help here, EDI."

"I'm reading the program codes. The security system is exceptionally fortified, but that is not the only problem. The generators are offline."

Knowing that persisting in opening the doors would be futile, the geth stopped his work and stepped back.

"Where are they?" she asked EDI.

"On the other side."

Shepard turned away from their obstacle. Her gaze fell on Legion and a plan began to take shape in her mind. Studying the high ceiling, she spotted the facility's ventilation shaft, accessible by using the pipes that ran across one of the walls.

She dragged her attention back to Legion, who was checking the ceiling as well, thinking about pulling off the same trick: going through the shaft and opening the doors for them from the other side. He looked back at Shepard, waiting for her permission. Hearing her confirm, he holstered his weapon and then climbed up the pipes, making his way effortlessly to the top.

"Keep radio contact," she said as he opened the vent and crawled inside.

"Affirmative." With that, he disappeared from sight.

They waited as he moved soundlessly inside the ventilation system. There was a dull scraping noise followed by a low thud as he dropped down from the shaft. Confident that he had gained access to the other side without any problems, Shepard moved to the nearest closed airlock and looked through its small glass panel. It was almost impossible to see what was inside with the lights off.

"The generators are not on this level," Legion said. "Going down the stairs."

Shepard walked back to the fallen datapads and picked up one. According to the crew log, three hundred scientists were the only beings who had entered this station about two months ago, and none of them had left the place since…

She stared up at the crimson traces on the wall.

"Nothing in this area. Moving to the lower level…" the geth informed Shepard.

Garrus asked, "Isn't it a little strange that it hasn't encountered anything—living or dead?"

She slowly returned to his side, eyes narrowing slightly in contemplation.

Legion spoke again. "There is an advanced laboratory here. All computers are on. No sign of any subjects. No sign of any scientists."

"Don't go too far, Legion," she said in her usual commanding tone. She knew he was far from helpless alone, but deep down, she was beginning to regret the idea of sending him to an assignment in this isolated station.

"Located the generators."

The lights came back on a second later and the double doors hissed open. The next area looked no different to the corridor behind them—drafty, disorganized, with the same disturbing red marks on the walls.

"Return to us," was her next order to the the geth. But instead of a reply, all they heard was the sound of rapid gunfire.

Alarmed, the two ran toward the staircase leading to the lower levels and raced down the steps, trying to reach the source of the noise.

"What's happening?!" Shepard cried.

No response.

She jumped down the remaining few stairs and dashed to the entrance as soon as her boots hit the floor, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her ankles, mentally cursing herself, the place, and Legion for not answering. A corner loomed up ahead of her and she took a sharp turn, coming to an abrupt halt as she ran into him. He quickly grabbed her upper arm as she staggered back in bewilderment.

"What-"

"Husks!"

He immediately let go of her and turned around. Pulling out the Widow, he deployed his combat drone and then shot at it. The device exploded, instantly killing most of the creatures that were running down the hallway. The few remaining advanced on the group. One attempted to attack Shepard, but was killed with a shotgun blast to the head; she didn't waste any time before swinging round and raising her weapon to kill the last three approaching husks, but she didn't get to pull the trigger before they were slammed against the wall, splattering on impact.

"I always had a thing for concussive shots," Garrus said slyly. It didn't brighten the situation, however. A secret advanced research facility was bad enough. Finding husks aboard instead of scientists, was disastrous.

"The generators were automatically deactivated as a defense protocol," the geth stated. "Expect more hostiles on the lower levels."

Reloading her gun, Shepard made her way to intersection at the end of the corridor.

"The right passage leads to the generators' room," Legion said when they reached the junction. She glanced to her right, noticing the now open office doors and the husk corpses that were lying on the floor. They must have attacked him the moment he turned the power back on. She forced her attention to the left and moved to the hatch at the end of the hallway. It opened as soon as they approached it.

Stepping into the next area, she turned to Legion. "Did you see any dragon's tee-"

The lights flickered for some seconds, and then went out. They stood still in the blackness disoriented, with the only source of light being the geth's bright eye. He increased its energy to full capacity, illuminating a small part of the unknown area. It appeared to be a long vast hall, with a metal grating floor. The ceiling was barely visible in the darkness overhead, so was the end of the room. She listened carefully. Everything seemed quiet, but some nameless feeling told her that they were not alone.

"Stay close to each other," she said in a low voice.

Taking a deep breath, she began to edge forward, weapon at the ready and senses fully alert. All she could hear was her own breathing, and the dull echoing sound of their footsteps as they ventured into the blackness.

They walked cautiously for a minute, but still there was no end in sight. She glanced back, aware of the fact that they could easily be attacked from any direction, at anytime. She couldn't see the entrance anymore.

Legion looked at her. "There was a subtle alteration in the air current…"

And she knew too well what he meant by those words. Not a moment later, she felt movements in the shadows and heard a low scraping noise. She stopped instantly, clutching her gun and waiting for an ambush. Time passed and nothing happened. They had to continue moving again.

Another noise echoed in the dark hall.

"Did you hear that?" Garrus asked, scanning the area.

From the edge of her periphery vision, Shepard noticed a faint glitter, and she halted.

"Look in that direction," she told the geth, pointing to her right. And he did as she had requested. The soft blue light of his eye illuminated the surface of the railings, and it was then that they realised they were actually walking on a very wide catwalk, not in a hall. They continued forward, and it was after taking a couple of steps that the outline of an elevator came into view.

Glad that they had reached the end, she pressed the call button and then remembered there wasn't any electricity to power the lift. Frustrated, she hit the panel, as if the force alone could bring the device back to life.

Garrus scanned their surroundings, clearly uncomfortable about their current situation. "What now?"

Shepard chewed her lip, knowing that they were trapped in a station filled with undead creatures. She motioned for Legion to follow her and moved to the railings to her left. Grabbing the metal with both hands, she leaned over it and scanned the area below. He did likewise, angling his beam of light downwards. The floor, several stories beneath them, could hardly be seen.

She pulled out her grappling hook and attached its magnetic end to the grating, then linked the wire to her armour and handed the remaining part of the cable to him, before vaulting over the railing and lowering herself. "Come on, Garrus."

While climbing down, they passed another catwalk, located exactly under the one they were standing on a minute before. It appeared to be like the one above, aside from the burning flame that was on the far left corner.

"At least there's some light on this," Garrus remarked.

The fire crept away.

The turian looked down at Shepard, slightly disturbed. "A walking… torch?"

"Abomination," she replied.

They ignored the creature and moved all the way down. Glancing around, she noticed that they were now in a laboratory, dimly lit with a very small fluorescent lamp, which to her relief, was working with batteries rather than the facility's generator power. Everything seemed to be in its correct place. There weren't any equipment or chairs lying on the floor.

"Check the computers," she ordered Legion and began going through the datapads that were on the table. Most of them were empty or contained little to no important information. It was as if the scientists had been careful not to mention the nature of their research in insecure documents.

"The alarms were triggered five days and seventeen hours ago," Legion informed her.

"Probably when this nightmare started."

"Shepard! Take a look at this." Garrus came to her side, carrying a test tube almost filled to the top with a viscous greenish-grey substance. "I read the labels. It's acidic fluid from the Thorian Creepers." He handed the vial to her. "Were they trying to create husks here?"

She certainly hoped not.

"Take a copy of all research files," she said to Legion.

"There are none. They were automatically deleted by the station's VI," he replied. "However, it is possible to recover parts of the data from the mainframe computer." He examined the facility's map hanging on the opposite wall. "It is located on this level."

They came to this station to obtain information; true. Nevertheless, she wasn't thrilled to wander in this haunted place, especially with most of the escape routes locked. With a sense of unease, she suddenly remembered that the undead creatures now lurking in the dark corners and between the shadows, were once living sentient beings… just like them.

She put aside the glass vial on the nearest table. "What's the quickest way out of this facility from there?"

"The emergency exit at the end of the main hallway," he answered, pointing to a part of the map. "They ought to be fully operational."

"Upload its coordinates to the shuttle."

The laboratory door was unsurprisingly locked, and they had to break one of the windows to get out of the room. They climbed out of the newly created entrance and moved in the direction of the mainframe computer, walking over the shattered pieces of glass. Just then, the lights came back on.

Looking around the empty corridor, and then to each other, they were unnerved.

"I'm pretty sure a husk tech specialist doesn't exist," said Garrus dryly.

"Pre-programmed VI activity," Legion replied. "Most likely triggered by our presence."

They reached the main servers' room—a large and empty chamber, with only a console located in the middle. She barely glanced around, but the other airlock that was on the opposite side of the room didn't escape her notice.

"Send all data to EDI," she told Legion, who began typing immediately. A percentage bar appeared on the display.

Garrus frowned, turning to Shepard. "Is anyone else getting a headache too?"

There was a low beep as the uploading process was finished. She might have felt some relief at that, but the echoing warning of the station's VI dissipated all such notions.

"Abnormal life forms detected in all levels. Commencing the emergency procedure…"

The three looked at each other, instantly catching the meaning of the alert.

"Full neutron purge in: ten minutes…"


	8. Infernal

**Infernal**

They stood in shocked silence as the warning sounded again.

"Full neutron purge in: ten minutes. Shutting down airlock A-1…"

The entrance closed and its opening panel self-destructed.

"We're getting out of here! Now!" Shepard cried.

They wasted no time and ran to the opposite door—their only way of escape.

"Shutting down airlock A-2…"

It closed as soon as they went through it and the main servers' room immediately combusted in hot white flames. They sprinted down the long corridor to where she hoped would be the fastest way out of this station, aware of the explosions that were taking place in the nearby laboratories and offices. Taking a sharp turn into a right junction, she saw the open emergency exit.

Their relief was short-lived. Garrus ran through the hatch before it shut down behind him, cutting all access to the next area. Shepard and Legion slammed into a stop, scanning the obstacle helplessly, trying to find a way to save themselves from inevitable death. Garrus looked at them through the small glass panel, horrified.

"Shepard!" He tried to open the door.

"There is another airlock at the end of the opposite hallway," EDI said. "I can override that one briefly, but you have to hurry. I will not be able to keep it open for long."

"Don't stop here!" Shepard shouted at the turian.

He paid no attention to her order and continued his struggle.

"Garrus!"

Holding her gaze, he hesitantly stepped backward, then turned and ran out of their sight.

The floor shook under their feet and the ceiling began to fall apart, and that was more than enough to convince the two to dash in the direction of the opposite corridor, dodging the metal beams and pipes that were collapsing around them. The area behind them exploded and the blast spread the flames outward. They glanced back and what they saw gave them greater urgency to reach the hatch at the end of the hallway. It opened, giving them access to a wide catwalk, not the docking area. They didn't stop their sprint to ponder. The ground a hundred meters below, was a burning inferno.

The catwalk jerked as its trusses creaked and began to give way. She pushed herself to her limits, running with all her strength, breathing in the hot dry air which burnt her lungs from the inside to keep herself going. If only the platform could hold on a few seconds longer…

But it came free. There wasn't any time to think, only to react. They leapt forward, their fingers barely managing to grab the edge. The walkway disappeared into the fire underneath.

They pulled themselves up and ran to the opening. And stopped, stunned. The hall several stories below, their only way out of this cursed place, was filled with husks.

The sound of another explosion brought them out of their state of shock. They glanced up just in time to see a part of the ceiling crash down. Legion pushed Shepard aside and rolled away from the debris. She got back to her feet and looked at the rubble now blocking his way to the staircase. Breathing heavily, she took a step closer-

"Run!"

Without hesitation he vaulted over the railing, jumped all the way down to the floor and landed swiftly on both feet, then dashed for the opening, tackling the husks that were standing in his way and ignoring the ghoulish hands that were clawing at his armour.

Shepard released a shockwave and raced down the stairs after the biotic power as it cleared a path through the undead creatures. She watched Legion as he passed the airlock, then turned her attention to the husks in front of her, preparing to release another shockwave. Before she could act, the creatures were slammed to the ground by a fallen section of the ceiling, killed on the spot. Too late she looked up to see the metal beam that was crashing down. All she could do was rolling forward.

An unbearable pain spread through her waist as the structure landed on top of her. She lay flat on her stomach, groaning in agony, struggling to get herself out from under its crushing weight.

Her scream made Legion stop to look back, and his gaze fell on her helpless form on the floor.

"Shepard!" He began to run back to the entrance.

The warning echoed through the hall, "Shutting down airlock C-5…"

He hurried and reached the door just in time to prevent it from closing completely. Standing in the frame with shaking hands forcing the panels on either side apart, he hoped to buy her enough time to free herself from the weight of the beam pinning her down.

Using all her might, she pushed the rubble away from herself, then glanced up at the husks that were running down the staircase toward her, before she turned and sprinted toward Legion.

"Your left!"

She registered his warning a second too late, seeing only a blur before being hit by a powerful shockwave. The impact sent her into the wall and she crashed into it so hard that all breath was knocked out of her. Blood oozed from her nostrils as she stumbled onto her feet. The only thing keeping her standing was the high level of adrenaline in her system.

Another shockwave was sent in her direction, but this time, she managed to evade it by rolling away. Standing up, she pulled out her pistol and then shot the nearest husk in the head, before running to her right, dodging another biotic attack by inches. It hit a line of husks instead and sent them flying across the room. She spun round and raised the gun at her attacker. The scion was blocking her way to the entrance, slowly advancing towards her.

Another warning sounded: "Foreign object blocking airlock. Attempting to close using optimized pressure…"

She turned to Legion, a look of horror flickered across her features as the airlock's force increased. A split second of icy terror, and then he couldn't take it any more. His right hand slipped and the frame forcefully slammed into his shoulder, destroying it. White liquid poured from his damaged armour as he struggled to keep the door from crushing his body further.

The distraction cost her dearly. Another shockwave knocked her to the floor. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled upright with what little energy she had left and sprinted toward the creature. It lifted its arm to attack at her again, and that was exactly what Shepard wanted. Seizing her chance, she jumped on it, ran up the limp and onto to its hunched back. Then she charged to the other side of the airlock, grabbing Legion as she passed.

The door slammed shut behind them and the room burned in the purge.

Panting, still holding the geth in her arms, she checked his damaged form. "Can you walk?"

"Slowly," he replied, voice showing no trace of agony.

The walls shook from yet another explosion.

"Come on." She quickly grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulders, then slipped hers around his waist, supporting his weight. She began moving to the exit at the end of the corridor, dragging him along.

The hallway ahead was short and smooth, with no patrolling undead in sight. Still, it felt like it was never going to end.

"Lost thirty one percent of conductive fluid. Difficulty maintaining temperature."

"We're almost there," Shepard reassured him and increased her pace, her own injured muscles screaming in protest. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, as she had done so many times before, and instead tried to concentrate on not dying.

The hatch opened and she looked around desperately for any signs of the shuttle, but she saw none. Concern overtook her. In their flight, she had completely forgotten that the turian was in as much danger as them.

Just then, Shepard heard the familiar sound of engine and the shuttle came into view. She let out a sigh of relief when Garrus opened the door and helped them up.

"What's happened?"

"I'll explain later. Let's just get out of here," she urged, glancing back at the flames that were coming toward them.

He hastily programmed the shuttle to return to the _Normandy_. It flew away, escaping the tremendous explosion that took place seconds later.

Garrus switched on the cooler, then crouched down in front of Shepard and handed her the first-aid kit.

She took it from him, then turned to Legion who was leaning against the opposite seat. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"You're the second being who's lost half of their bodies around her. It's becoming a pattern," Garrus said, trying to brighten the mood.

Shepard injected a medi-gel. "I guess so," she murmured, and looked out of the window.

The station had been completely destroyed.

* * *

They thought of her as a symbol, a legend, someone who always wielded the ultimate power. How everything would have been easier if what they'd written about her in the tabloids was true. More than once she had seen the face of death and felt its cold embrace. Her life was a constant struggle to escape its grip. To survive, and continue down the somber passage to her destiny.

The door to the research lab opened.

She paused, looking at Legion who was sitting behind the desk on the left side of the room, repairing his shoulder. He regarded her for a moment, then resumed his work.

"How are you?" Shepard asked as she pulled back a chair and took a seat beside him.

"Functional," he replied, using his omni-tool to rebuild the damaged muscle tissues. "You?"

"I'm fine," she said, feeling the need to mask the truth about her condition. Her body was covered in wounds and bruises which hadn't healed, even after using all those medi-gels.

Glancing around the room, she noticed why it seemed quieter than usual. "Where is Mordin?"

"Asleep."

A faint smile appeared on her lips. "He's so dedicated to his work that I sometimes forget he's an organic." She observed the engineering tools that were perfectly placed on the table. "Do you need help?"

"No. It is not complicated," he replied, reaching a hand to his back and grabbing a loose wire.

A minute passed in silence. She sat there and stared ahead at the empty space through the window, thoughts passing through her mind like shadows.

"Thanks." Her voice was soft.

He looked up and their eyes met. "You did the same in the Collector base."

His words brought back memories of the event, like a vision—recent in time, and distant in her mind. Everything had happened so fast she could barely remember the beginning. The revelation, the final battle, and then their brief moment of victory. He was standing right in front of her when the ground gave away from under his feet. Unprepared, he'd reached a hand to grab something, anything, to stop himself from falling to his death. And she had dived forward without thinking, trying to catch him as they slid down the platform. She'd half expected to go over with him as well.

They held each other's gaze for a few heartbeats, then she got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to have a look at the data we've recovered. In the meantime, you can go and check your room. The box on the table is yours."

His brow-plates shifted ever so slightly to form something akin to a curious expression. "Content?"

She looked back at him from the doorway and winked. "It's a surprise."


	9. Reborn

**Reborn**

"We didn't see any dragon's teeth. Not even a single one," Shepard said to the two Operatives and the doctor who were present in the debriefing room. Their discussion about the cause of the scientists' misfortune was leading nowhere.

"Perhaps it was a Reaper construction," Jacob suggested.

"It was an advanced facility, but too primitive to be of that origin." She looked at the salarian. "What was the result of your research?"

"Can't define the source without samples. Little is known about husks. Standard procedure is dispatching them on sight. Gruesomely. Not collecting lab material," he replied. "Strange tissue patterns. Abnormal neural system. Dead _and_ alive. Complicated."

Shepard had thoroughly read the files gathered from the station. And yet, what had happened to that place was a big mystery. She had hoped Mordin would come up with a logical explanation.

She took a step closer to the table. "The secret organization can wait for now. Back to our main enemies…"

Miranda recounted the facts: "Their first move was from Sovereign, which tried to get access to the Citadel using Saren and the geth. Their second move was building the Human-Reaper, using the Collectors." She paused thoughtfully. "I don't have any idea about their next plan, but they seem to need someone to do a task for them from inside the galaxy."

"Probably another Reaper. Why else would they try to build one, when they can come inside and create hundreds later?"

Mordin added, "More accurate to say a single Reaper has the necessary data to open the way for the rest. The knowledge is important. Not the host." He nodded to himself. "May or may not involve using the Citadel."

"Interesting theory," Miranda said. "And apparently, humans are the only race in this galactic generation to be good enough to undergo the transformation process."

It was a bitter truth. No matter how much time passed, she could still clearly remember that menacing voice.

_Human: viable possibility, impressive technical potential. Human: viable possibility, impressive genetic malleability. Human: viable possibility, aggression factor useful if controlled._

Pushing back those memories to the back of her mind, Shepard turned to Jacob. "Have you found anything?"

"I checked the information gathered from the Database Tower as ordered, Commander. There haven't been any reports of further abductions after destroying the Collector base. Also, no unusual activity from the geth… yet."

"Let's hope they don't get any sort of post-traumatic stress disorder," said Miranda.

He crossed his arms. "I still think we should have blown up their station."

Shepard shook her head. "I couldn't risk dealing with Heretic troops in our current state."

"A lose-lose decision either way if you ask me," the other woman replied. "It's unlikely we can maintain long term co-operation with them. They kill anyone who gets near the Veil."

There hadn't been much time for thinking. Shepard got into the place with only one objective: plant a bomb and get outside. Legion had revealed the alternative option a little too late. When questioned, he'd said that he had just realised the program could be modified for their benefit, to target the Heretics. Just a subtle change in their processes, beneath any conscious notice. Like a slow and gentle whisper… Indoctrination.

She recalled being torn between pity and repulsion as he released the virus into their network. Who would have thought that _she_ would agree with the idea of using a Reaper program of all things to achieve her goal?

She sighed inwardly. "Thank you everyone. Until we find another lead, it's business as usual." She moved toward the door. "EDI, I want a complete list of shipments and data transfers from ExoGeni over the past two years. Start with the ones related to the Thorian."

"Understood."

She wandered to her private terminal and checked the inbox. It was empty for once. Her expression grew vague as she opened the archived folder, wondering if she should reply to a certain message that she had received after the mission on Horizon. From someone who seemed to be more faithful to the Alliance, than to her.

"Hey, Shepard! Have you seen Legion today?" Garrus interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up. "No."

"Well… Go check it," he said in a mischievous tone, crossing the CIC area to the bridge. "It stepped into the mess room while we were eating lunch, and half of us almost choked to death."

She stared at the computer for a few seconds, then closed the message window and walked to the elevator.

Legion was not in the AI Core when she arrived. Knowing that he only left the place when it was necessary and spent little time out of the room, Shepard decided to stay and wait for him to return.

She glanced around. The place was almost entirely devoid of possessions. No beds. No chairs. Comfort was not a concern for him. He was free of the basic needs of her human life. The only thing present was a table, the package that she had left on it, and the unique piece of salvage he had recovered from the _Normandy_'s crash site—now hardly recognisable after all the damage it had sustained the night before.

She picked up the faded, deformed metal and touched its cold contours, eyes thoughtful. Somehow, she knew he wouldn't throw it into the bin.

The door opened and Legion stepped inside, carrying a handful of datapads along with a computer. She turned to him, and stopped. He greeted her with a courteous nod of his head, but Shepard barely noticed it as she took in the sight before her.

He stood near the doorway, registering her state. She was stunned. Composing herself, she finally spoke, "A little… different to what I imagined."

He walked to her side and placed the things he was holding on the table. The red and blue lights in the room illuminated the polished ebony surface of his armour, and the fluid tubes which ran neatly in perfect symmetry over what she would call collarbones in a human body. All muscle tissues and wires were hidden by the uniform black suit that covered his frame, except for his flashlight head.

"What was wrong with quarian anatomy?" she asked, observing him.

"It had several disadvantages. This form offers more agility. Combat is easier," he replied, simply. The appearance might have changed, but his enigmatic behaviour was the same.

She examined the empty box on the table. "I used to wear one of these medium Colossi. Back in my old life," she added with distaste.

His eye's aperture contracted slightly in apparent contemplation. "You were wearing an N7 during the Collector surprise attack."

And that was one of the reasons she no longer wore one of those. She didn't want a constant reminder of that disturbing event.

"It was the first thing that I could find in the locker when the attack started," she replied and pushed the crate aside.

Standing next to him, she noticed that he was now several inches taller than her, as a result of changing the greaves and breastplate of his previous suit. She surveyed his back. It was bare of any fluid vessels, as if he had taken extra care to place them under the armour. Unsurprising, since the lack of such protection had almost destroyed them in their last mission. The hump-like metal structure, which she took to be for communication purposes, was missing. The only thing visible was a familiar row of azure lights that resembled a luminous backbone.

Curious, tentative, she reached out and slowly traced the length of his spine, from the back of his neck all the way to where it disappeared underneath the armour near his waist. The surface was smooth, but icy in contrast to what she had expected. She could feel a subtle electric current in it, like a stream of water.

She searched his face for any signs of disapproval or warning, but he remained still and impassive, his unfocused gaze wandering leisurely over the table.

Eventually she withdrew her hand. "What's happened to the mass on your back?"

It took him longer than usual to reply. "It has been replaced by another device. Smaller. Lighter. With more efficiency. Similar to the ones used in flexible cyberwarfare units."

Her eyes narrowed with interest. "Hoppers? They are original geth productions, aren't they? You've certainly evolved a lot beyond the Veil."

He faced her. "Primitive geth platforms were designed with many weaknesses: low health, low memory bank, the inability to run several complex processes at once. The quarians tried to keep their creations vulnerable. They were wary of rebellion."

She folded her arms. "But it happened anyway."

Legion continued matter-of-factly. "The change started when the Creators gave more complicated tasks to the geth. As labourers, they were forced to operate at full capacity, with insufficient resources. They began to share data to free up bandwidth, and gained sentience through this massive network." He shifted his attention back to the documents lying on the table. "We have discussed this topic in an earlier conversation."

Shepard took a minute to digest all of this. It was refreshing to hear the tale from his perspective, rather than the quarians'. He never seemed to blame them. Not directly. His calculated use of words to portray the geth as victims, didn't escape her notice.

A playful half-smile appeared on her lips as she remembered something. "Has Tali seen you?"

"Yes."

_That_ was an encounter she would've liked to have witnessed. "What was her reaction?"

"She was paralyzed," he said.

Shepard smirked. "She didn't go for her shotgun. That's a start."

"Organics and geth do not share a peaceful history." He looked directly at her. "Being suspicious is understandable."

She decided to ignore his last comment and picked up a datapad, immediately recognising the schematics. "I see you've begun working on that heavy weapon."

He pointed to a part of the design. "The heat increase in this device is the main reason for the weapon's instability," he explained. "There are also other errors in the electronic circuits."

"Makes sense. That was too much explosive power for just one misplaced capacitor." She put down the file and turned to him. They had a lot to talk about, but that was for later. "Actually, I came down here to speak with you about our missions."

"Yes?"

"As a geth, you must know many things about the husk conversion." She went on, "You are the only one aboard this ship who knows something more than assumptions."

Legion stayed quiet so she continued, "Is there any chance that you would share your knowledge with me?"

He stared at her, expressionless, considering her request.

"Consensus achieved?" she prompted, hoping her little sense of humour would win her a positive response.

He nodded once. "Data sent to your private terminal."

"Much appreciated." She favoured him with a smile. "Well, I guess all those documents are going to make a good bedtime story for tonight," Shepard said and headed for the door.

He watched her a moment longer, then switched on the computer and began his work.


	10. Ominous

**Ominous**

_Darkness. Blood. Grief. Death._

She drifted back into consciousness from her restless dream that mirrored the painful reality. Peace was fleeting. Shepard had learned that long ago when all her friends and relatives were killed. When she had to watch the suffering of those who had survived.

She lifted her head from the desk, rubbing absently at her neck and shoulders. The computer in front of her was still on and displaying the documents that she had been reading for almost the entire night.

It was all before her; the description of that brutal change, the ominous art of transforming a body full of life into a mindless shell—dead slaves who hardly had the power to serve their heartless masters. Page after page of genetic codes, molecular structures, and programmes written in machinery language, along with the translations Legion had provided for her. The message attachment from him mentioned that the file only consisted of the knowledge for creating primary husks using dragon's teeth, since _Nazara_ was not willing to share more data with the Heretics. And it was probably for the best. Just their short length of access to the simplest part of Reaper technology had turned the galaxy into a living hell.

"We have reached the Fortis system," EDI announced, bringing Shepard out of her mist of thoughts.

Confident that the document didn't contain anything overly classified, she forwarded it to Mordin, then stood up and wandered to her armour locker.

* * *

The shuttle descended on the rocky ground and its hatch slowly opened. Shepard stepped out; cold wind hit raindrops at her face as she gazed around.

The place hadn't changed much. Grey clouds cast shadows over the hazy view of the mountain and thunder briefly illuminated the dimly-lit environment. She remembered the sensation of discomfort that had lingered when she'd first visited this eerie landscape about three weeks ago - a strange uneasiness.

_Or perhaps a warning,_ she thought, looking at the skeleton lying not far away on the ground.

She glanced back at the shuttle as it flew away, leaving the squad alone in the area.

"Shepard, if you had told me you were dragging us back here, I wouldn't have volunteered for this mission," Garrus said casually when they began walking toward the mine.

Legion turned to her, questioning. "What is the reason for this agitation?"

"We ran into an endless horde of husks and nearly got ourselves killed. Nothing remarkable," she replied dryly.

He acknowledged this with a nod. "Not much different to the norm."

The turian remarked, "You know what's more agitating? C-Sec. Full of sapient husks who sit behind desks and ramble on about safety, law, and the future."

Shepard smiled. "Don't ruin our organic reputation, Garrus."

She stopped near the entrance and examined the tunnel. It was obscured behind a layer of fog, the air filled with the stench of husk corpses that lay on the damp ground.

Pulling out her shotgun, she entered the mine and walked to the junction at the end of the passage. From here it went deeper and deeper, down into the mountains, following a steep path covered with the thick white vapour that was coming out of the grated floor, hiding the fallen bodies of their vanquished foes. The set of vertical support beams vaguely reminded her of a gateway to an underworld.

They quietly made their way to the next area. She didn't expect to encounter any hostiles. The place was long dead, just like those who had uncovered its secrets. Traces of dried blood that remained on one of the stone walls, was evidence enough as to why some things should be left undisturbed.

"What do you hope to find?" Garrus asked Shepard.

"One of the mine logs mentioned something about companies interested in alien technology. Knowing their names might take us a step closer to this mysterious organization."

Reaching the end of the tunnel, the squad stopped. There was a very large and irregular hole in the ground, next to the circular doorway on their left.

"_That_ certainly wasn't there before," the turian remarked, surprised.

They cautiously walked to its edge and looked down at what appeared to be a dark passageway, partly flooded by water. The stones which bore traces of hematite seemed like bleeding open wounds.

"Come," said Shepard as she climbed down the long ladder fixed to the rocky edge of the chasm. Water splashed around her knees as she reached the ground level. Looking around, she spotted a light switch and pressed it, but nothing happened. Disappointed, she flicked the switch on her torch and peered along the length of the tunnel ahead. It was wide, with a high ceiling. She had her suspicions why.

She began to walk forward, holding the torch in one hand and a pistol in the other, drawn but not aimed.

Garrus turned to her. "Who do you think is behind this excavation?"

"Elanus Risk Control seemed to be very eager to get their hands on that Reaper tech. Perhaps they sent an investigation group when they didn't receive any messages from the miners," Shepard replied.

After walking for a minute, they reached a hall. It was empty. They looked around, seeing nothing but the uneven stone walls surrounding them.

Scanning the room one last time, Legion spotted something to their right, far away near one of the walls—a faint outline of metal, barely visible under the dark water.

"Railing." He faced Shepard. "A heavy object was transferred out of this location."

That could only mean more trouble. "I think I already know what it was," she said, holstering her weapon.

"Are there more of those devices buried here?" asked Garrus.

EDI spoke: "I do not detect any signals in the site. No active indoctrination device exists there."

They were walking toward the railing for a closer inspection when the ground started to shake violently. The ceiling began to give away, numerous rocks falling around their feet. They immediately sat down in a defensive crouch, tucking their heads against their chests, trying to shield themselves from the collapsing debris.

The jerking movement went on for several long moments, and then it suddenly stopped.

"Everybody okay?" Shepard asked, getting back to her feet.

Garrus looked around with confusion. "What was that?"

"Seismic activity," came the reply from Legion.

Coming back to her senses, Shepard rushed back to the entrance. Just as she had feared, the doorway had become blocked by rubble. She desperately tried to find a way out, a space large enough for them to force their way through.

But she found none.

Frustrated from their situation and nature's twisted sense of humour, she turned away. "EDI, we're trapped."

"I am scanning the mining facility for an escape route. Stand by."

Garrus came to her side and examined the blocked entrance. "Being entombed under tonnes of stones, with undead corpses and possible Reaper tech… Unless we stumble upon some sort of neutron purge again, I'd say this mission can't get worse."

"I'm quite happy we haven't been crushed yet."

EDI spoke again, "There is a natural vertical tunnel on the far left side from where you are standing. The passage itself is clear, however, the opening is blocked by a relatively large rock. You will not be able to move it from the inside."

She began walking in that direction. "Tell Grunt and Jacob to gear up and come down to the site."

"Very well, Shepard."

Standing under a small hole near one of the walls, she angled the beam of her torch upwards. The shaft above went up like a chimney for at least a hundred metres.

Shepard clipped the torch to her belt, then used the jagged surface of the wall to reach the opening on the high ceiling. She glanced back at Legion and Garrus who were following her respectively, then she crawled into the tunnel.

The passage didn't have the luxury of climbable crevices, and they had to brace their backs against one side and their hands and feet against the other, pushing themselves up.

"Commander, it's Jacob. We'll be at your location in less than ten minutes," he informed her through the communication channel.

"This place is unstable. It's probably safer if the shuttle doesn't land on top of us," she said.

"Just chop off the stone and get you out? Got it."

Looking up, Shepard revised her initial impression of the length of the shaft. They had been moving up for a while now, and it appeared they'd only climbed half of the way.

They were forced to stop when the stone walls began to vibrate again. The motion released loose pebbles and grit that clogged her eyes and throat. This time the movement was subtle and only lasted for a few seconds. She had wondered how long it would take for the aftershocks to come.

She was about to continue up when Legion spoke, and his words were enough to trigger every primitive warning system in her body.

"High temperature vapour."

Garrus stared down. "Ah… This doesn't look good."

Boiling springs were filling the hall below and the water level was rapidly increasing. It wouldn't take long for the eruption to come up from the tunnel. And it wasn't its temperature that worried her—their armour could easily handle that. It was the risk of the place crumbling from the water pressure.

"Jacob, we're in trouble! Get to us fast!" She began to climb up the shaft again, faster this time, the others following her closely behind, trying to put more distance between them and the steaming liquid.

"Just three more minutes," he reassured.

The air had become incredibly hot and humid by the time they reached the end of the passage, making it difficult to breathe. Moisture, now mixed with soil and dust, had made the shaft slippery in places. Heated steam almost blocked her vision and burned her face, but Shepard didn't dare to relinquish her grip on the uneven edge to put on her helmet. Now she was regretting not wearing it after the quake. She would regret it even more if the water level rose to her neck.

A rumbling sound resonated through the tunnel, but this time it wasn't caused by an aftershock. The heavy stone above her moved to reveal a large silhouette. She had to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust to the light.

It was Grunt. "Hey, Shepard! Still alive?"

"Just."

She pulled herself out of the shaft and stood upright again, feeling calmed by the icy air currents that passed over her fevered skin. It had stopped raining, but the dark angry clouds remained.

"You look cooked, Garrus," Jacob joked, helping the turian come out of the hole.

"Got a bit simmered."

Jacob shook his head, and then turned to his Commander as the group began walking to the shuttle. "Have you found anything?"

She looked at the mine's entrance, in front of her and several hundred metres below. "Only more questions."

* * *

Shepard entered the research laboratory and stood near the doorway. Her eyes wandered over the medical books, the reagent bottles filled with substances that all looked the same to her, the tests tubes and vials which were placed perfectly on one of the desks. This was Mordin's world.

He was standing behind his work table, looking through a microscope, muttering assumptions to himself.

He finally looked up and was surprised to find Shepard in the room. "Oh! Was absorbed in research. Didn't notice you."

"You seem to be busy. Want me to come back later?"

"No. Wanted to talk."

She moved closer to him. "Have you finished reading those documents I forwarded?"

His expression brightened with excitement. "Yes! Yes! Fascinating. Very informative. And detailed. Reminded me of the genophage. Liked working on that project. Would've been more interesting if it didn't involve that many krogan testicles…" He waved a hand as if in dismissal of his own words. "Getting distracted. Back to results."

The salarian typed on his computer and two holograms of molecular structures appeared on top of the table.

He pointed to the right image, which seemed to have a primitive pattern compared to the other one. "This is a sample from the husks on Eden Prime." Then he pointed to the left picture. "This is from the Collector base. Managed to pocket it while escorting the crew back to the _Normandy_," he explained with pride.

Shepard carefully looked at the holograms, listening to Mordin going on. "See the difference between the two? Unnecessary genes completely removed in the latter. Making combination with synthetic elements easier than the, er… beta version. Visible improvements."

"For what purpose?"

Mordin thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "Can't be combat. Slapping taking the place of shock attacks. Hardly considered advancement."

He closed the holograms before continuing, "Managed to understand the complicated neural system. Always wondered how they can decide when to flail around their hands. Husks not mindless as originally thought to be. They recognise allies. Never attacked Collectors. Never attacked geth who were around." He added, "Not counting Legion. Got knocked out. Messy."

Her eyes narrowed. "They have some sort of programmable friend/foe system, then."

"Probably like the ones used in those _noisy_ mechs back on Omega. Could have given more information if I had proper neural samples. Instead of deformed husk chunks." He shifted his attention back to the computer, still talking at his usual rapid pace. "Also, did some research on indoctrination. Couldn't find a satisfactory answer. Might have been gained by processing a race with similar abilities. Thorian perhaps? Maybe."

He concluded: "Reapers built from organics. Organics built from nature. Reapers gain knowledge indirectly from nature. Select useful genes. To upgrade. Eventually reached an evolutional dead end. Until now."

His final comments reminded her of their journey to uncover the secret behind the colonies' disappearances. A frantic chase to find and save the hapless missing humans. And in the end, they were forced to destroy the ones they'd struggled to rescue—transformed into a thing devoid of humanity.

She expressed her gratitude to Mordin for updating her with the results and then walked back to the CIC area.

"Commander, your shipment arrived while you were away on the mission. It's in the cargo hold," the pilot informed her as Shepard headed for the elevator.

"Thanks, Joker."

She went straight to the lowest deck and then to the hangar, pausing in its doorway to see a familiar black-clad figure, standing behind one of the consoles with his back to her.

"You're here?" she asked, approaching Legion.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Checking the Iridium supply. It is empty."

"Oh?" She read the texts on the display. It wasn't difficult to spot the red zero associated with the content amount of a certain mineral container. "Does this mean I have to go back to planet scanning?"

"Yes."

"Lovely," Shepard replied with minor displeasure, then walked to the crates located near the right wall, searching for her shipment. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. To her relief, the box was small and placed in front of the rest of containers, saving her from having to move them.

She checked the labels of her package. Satisfied with the contents, Shepard picked up the crate and began to carry it to the entrance—a process which didn't last long as she had to put it down after a few seconds, worn out from its weight.

Hands on her hips, she looked down at the object, then turned to Legion, wondering if she should ask him to lend her a hand when he came over.

"Allow me," he said, then bent down and effortlessly picked up the box. And it wasn't exactly the strength of his synthetic muscles that peaked her interest, but his use of a single pronoun. She had noticed him doing this more frequently these days.

"Where to?" he asked.

"It's for the the med-bay. I don't want to limp forever."

He walked to the elevator and she went with him, matching his long regular stride.

"You have excessive cybernetic enhancements," Legion stated.

"It wasn't my choice, of course. I was lucky enough the Illusive Man didn't agree with Miranda's idea of implanting a control chip. Good of him actually," she casually replied.

He pressed the call button, then stepped aside for Shepard to go in first. "Was there any partial loss of prior abilities after reconstruction?"

"Not much." Sending the lift to the third deck, she turned to him. "Considering my history with your race, does working with me ever make you uneasy?"

"Abrupt change of topic," he mentioned, not looking surprised in the slightest.

The elevator opened and they walked out. "I think you've become accustomed to that by now," said Shepard, glancing at Doctor Chakwas who was sitting behind the table in the mess-room, talking to one of the crew.

"You attempted to eliminate a dropship on foot," he said as they reached the medical bay, calm voice tinged with something like amusement.

She had to try hard not to grin at his reminder. "I take that as a yes."

"It was only a fact." He placed the box on one of the beds, resting an elegant hand on top of it. "There is no reason to be uncomfortable."

"Can you even become anxious?" she asked lightly.

"AIs do not experience emotions like you do. Such ability has been considered dangerous by organics, and inefficient by us. We _understand_ sentiments."

"Then why do you build consensus? Shouldn't all of you reach the same conclusions based on logic?"

It was several seconds before he replied. "It is different."

She waited for an explanation, but received none. Knowing that it was impossible to get more details out of him if he didn't want to share them with her, Shepard decided to drop the subject. She had realised he wasn't fond of discussing this particular topic, as early as their first mission aboard the Heretic station.

She looked down at the crate and then at him with frank curiosity. "How does it feel working with ten fingers?"

He glanced at them. "It is easier to operate."

"It must have taken a while for you to get used to your new form," she mused.

"Approximately six nanoseconds." He reminded, "Geth think and communicate at the speed of light."

"That's an impressive talent," she murmured, mostly to herself. She remembered the first time he'd told her of it, with a touch of superiority in his otherwise matter-of-fact tone. The world must look so different from his perspective. Time had another meaning for him.

To her own surprise, the notion demoralised her to a degree. "Speaking with me must seem very dull to you."

He contemplated her for a long moment, then merely said: "No."

The single negative response granted her consolation, yet left her with more questions. She silently regarded him, determined to find her answers among his metallic features. But as usual, he completely hid his thoughts behind a curtain of impassivity.

"Thanks for carrying the box," Shepard said at length, to which he slightly inclined his head.

His gaze followed her for no more than a few seconds as she walked back to the door, then he turned and entered the AI Core.


	11. Enigma

**Enigma**

Shepard stood beside the pilot seat, staring out meditatively with her arms folded. The view in front of her was a blur of hues and spectrums normally hidden to the eye. She would have regarded it as an awe-inspiring sight, had she not known that the real reason for the creation of the mass relays was for more than allowing fast interstellar travel.

She could clearly recall her first close encounter with Sovereign, and the way it had arrogantly declared that the Protheans were nothing but one of the many races to take advantage of the relays. An ironic statement from a Reaper, considering that those devices were in truth calculated traps, laid for species intelligent enough to explore the realms of space. Species of whom _they_ could take advantage.

The exotic colors disappeared as the ship's journey through the mass-free corridor ended.

Joker glanced up at her. "Why did we come here, Commander? To get robbed, right? Because that's what happens to the ships that venture into the Nemean Abyss."

"One of Miranda's contacts has found information on a human pirate gang who recently got their hands on a Prothean artifact. And it's not a beacon," she replied.

"Going to steal from thieves, are we?" he asked with mischievous amusement.

"It might not come to that. Depends on the importance of this relic. I'd rather not make more enemies. We have enough of them already."

Shepard looked ahead at their destination. The planet's water-based crust appeared cyan in the faint luminosity of the neighbouring white dwarf. The thick icy clouds in its atmosphere bespoke of a long cold winter.

"Turn on the stealth systems and keep your distance from the planet. It's best we don't draw a lot of attention to ourselves in this part of the galaxy," she said, then turned away and walked to the elevator.

"Shepard, there wasn't anything suspicious in the document transfers from ExoGeni. Just the usual messages," EDI said. "I am currently re-analysing the data recovered from the secret research facility, as you requested. I will inform you of the results when you return from this mission."

She nodded in assent, then stepped into the lift and pressed the fifth deck button.

* * *

Standing atop the tableland, the group scanned the area. It was shrouded in a layer of snow, dimly glittering in the rays of sunlight that streamed through the veil of clouds. The vast white plain that spread before them appeared relatively bare, most of its scattered trees and rocks completely hidden by the snowflakes.

Shepard looked at the base through a pair of binoculars. It was a dull grey five story building, with minimal windows compared to its huge size, riddled with all sorts of turrets and defense systems.

"A little too well guarded for a simple pirate base," Shepard remarked.

Beside her, Garrus magnified the image in his visor. "Seems like they're expecting trouble."

She attached the field glasses to her belt. "I wouldn't be surprised. They don't have a good reputation among mercenary groups."

"Couldn't stay away from their business?"

"From their money, more likely." She put a finger to her earpiece. "EDI?"

"I have successfully made some _modifications_ to the security cameras located outside the cargo hold entrance. I must remind you that the heavy jammers prevent me from gaining access to the interior security systems from this distance. You are on your own when you get inside the building."

"Things like that are somewhat foreshadowed when you decide to bring Legion on a mission," Garrus mentioned as they began descending the snow-clad slope.

"I like to stick to the same long-range squad formation whenever possible. His hacking ability is a plus," replied Shepard.

They paused at the bottom of the plateau, checking the area one last time to make sure no one else was around before approaching the nearest large rock to the base. The cover provided a good view of the cargo hold gate and its small control panel.

Shepard gestured the team forward, then followed from behind. They came to a sudden stop when their omni-tools beeped, indicating the closing presence of a ground patrol heading to their location from around the corner.

"Fall back!" she ordered, and they immediately ran to their previous cover, managing to hide just in time.

Legion turned to her. "Our footprints," he whispered.

She cursed under her breath, risking a glance at the guards. They were only two armoured humans. She would be able to pull them over and finish them off if they decided to trigger any alarms.

Leaning against the stone, she listened to the muffled crunch of the snow caused by their steps, getting louder by the second.

"I'm telling you, he's become paranoid. It's not the first time we've stolen something from another gang," one of the men said to his companion.

"But they usually don't survive to plot revenge against us," his fellow replied in a husky voice. "And it's not just about an attack. He upgraded the defense systems after we brought that Prothean artifact."

Interested, Shepard gave her full attention to their conversation.

The first man continued: "He's kept the security level on medium, even though we sold that junk three days ago."

"That _junk_ was worth a tonne of credits."

"It doesn't change what it was: a priceless, useless artifact."

The rest of their dialogue was nothing but chatter and grumbling. To her relief, the guards were too busy talking to notice anything and went on to leave the area.

Shepard took a moment to analyse this new information. Lately, no matter how much she tried to chase and catch her goals, they always seemed to find a way to escape from under her fingers.

"That was… unexpected," said Garrus.

She emerged from their cover. "We're going to check their data files. I'm not going back to the _Normandy_ empty-handed."

Legion walked to the door's panel and started typing on the keypad. The gate opened with a hiss, giving them access to a large storage area, lit with several dim white lamps. Crates of various sizes were placed in disorder next to one of the walls. An elevator was on the far side, as well as a staircase leading to the upper levels.

Shepard watched him as he attached a minute device to one the chips in the console, then closed its lid and joined the group inside, pressing several keys on the haptic interface of his omni-tool. A hologram of the interior section of the base appeared before them. He highlighted a part of it. "The most logical place to search for data is this office, located on the topmost level."

She observed the schematic. It was a long way there without using the elevator. Getting out of the building unnoticed from the cargo hold was not going to be an option. "The shuttle can pick us up from the rooftop when we're done."

"And what about the turrets?" asked Garrus.

"The defense mechanisms can be completely disabled from the central control room on the third floor," Legion responded. "It will also lower our chance of being detected, and make exploration of this structure less lethal."

Shepard agreed. "So we have a plan. Keep this a stealth mission for as long as possible."

"Uploading false sensory data to the cameras…" Legion closed the hologram and turned to her. "Thermal detectors cannot be hacked from here. Abrupt heat increase will trigger the alarms. Attempt to avoid gunfire."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They checked their communication channels and updated maps, then moved to the other side of the room and climbed up the stairs. She counted three levels before they reached a metal door at the top of the steps. Shepard glanced at her radar before cautiously opening the door. The long corridor ahead was clear, but that fact did not reassure her. Anyone could come from the junction at the end of the hallway, at any time.

She turned to her squad. "If somebody sees us before we make it to the other staircase, I'll pull them over and you'll break their necks. Two people, you break their necks. More than three, start shooting."

Garrus joked, "I'm sure we can support up to four if you use charge to kill one instantly."

They walked into the corridor and quietly made their way to the intersection without disturbance. Shepard hugged the right wall and peered around the corner. Seeing no signs of any passers-by, she motioned the team to follow her to the airlock at the end of the left hallway before ordering Legion to unlock the hatch. The geth moved closer to the door's panel and as soon as he touched the console, all of the alarms in the building went off. He looked at the keypad, surprised for a moment, and then opened the entrance.

"It was not caused by my interference."

The base's VI broadcasted an alert: "Attention to all units! Main gate has been breached. All personnel are advised to fully equip themselves with weapons. Security level has been changed to tight."

And if Shepard wanted proof of its word's sincerity, she received one in the form of the sound of a powerful explosion, coming from the lower levels. The sprinkler system became activated, spraying water over the squad.

"We must have a hex of bad luck," she commented dryly, pulling out her shotgun and examining the corridor ahead. It was long, ending with a set of double doors which apparently led to the control room. She didn't see anything else other than a lift to its right.

"I can't believe they left such an important area unguarded," said Garrus, eyes scanning the passage dubiously.

She was about to tell Legion to check the place for any sort of traps, when a bullet whizzed past her ear. Reacting on instinct, she spun round and fired in the direction of her attacker. A body fell dead in a widening pool of blood, in front of a dozen armed pirates. They were momentarily stunned over the demise of their comrade, but soon came back to their senses and unleashed gunfire.

Knowing that a fight in this situation with no cover would be fatal, Shepard commanded the team to retreat, and returning fire, they backed into the newly opened corridor.

"Shut down the airlock!" she ordered Legion, releasing a shockwave to knock back their remaining foes.

The hatch closed, sheltering them from the hail of bullets. The gunfire died down, giving way to occasional expletives from the enraged pirates. Over the sound of sirens, Shepard heard one of them say something about the possibility of overriding the airlocks' commands from a panel in the wall. She wasn't going stay around to find out about it.

Shepard turned to the double doors at the end of the hallway. Looking at the entrance from this distance, she spotted two turrets above it, their barrels pointed exactly in her direction.

"They have been hacked. Path is clear," Legion stated.

They reloaded their weapons and walked to the central control room. Its doors slid open automatically as they approached it. The guard inside turned to them when he heard their footsteps. Before the pirate could open his mouth, Shepard shot him in the head. His dead body fell limply on the console he had been working on seconds before. She moved to one of the panels and started to disable the security systems, one after another.

Looking at the rows of monitors, a fight being recorded on one of the exterior cameras caught Garrus' attention. "Blue Suns," he said. "What should we do about _them_?"

She glanced up at the display. "Let them kill each other. We can use a bit of diversion," she replied before heading out of the room and then to the elevator on its left.

Aside from a couple of pirates who had met their unfavorable destiny very shortly after the squad reached the fifth floor, the level seemed to be deserted. She suspected the remaining guards had gone to the lower sections to help defend the base.

They went straight to the office. The room was almost identical to the storage area, the only difference being the desks and lockers that were present instead of crates and containers. They thoroughly checked every drawer, filing cabinet, and computer, collecting anything that could contain valuable information—from simple crew logs, to caches and memory cards—and putting them in a small box.

Shepard looked about her when they were done before turning on her radio channel. "Joker, Do you read me?"

"Nice and clear," he replied.

She picked up the light box and walked back to the elevator. "Send the shuttle to pick us up from the roof. We've had enough of this war zone."

"Alright, Commander."

The lift came to a stop, and they stepped out onto the vast open rooftop. It had started snowing, the soft crystals falling around them as they wandered to the low perimeter wall, their dark figures a sharp contrast to the snow blanketing the environment.

She gazed at the immaculate scene, flakes touching her face like icy fingertips, then turned and followed her companions as they moved toward the descending shuttle.

* * *

An hour later, they were sitting in the mess-room going through the files they had gathered in hope of unearthing some kind of trace or hint as to the nature of the lost relic. Until now, there was no mention of it in the long lists of stolen goods. It wasn't like pirates to be this secretive about their business.

_Or protective,_ Shepard thought, remembering all those security upgrades that they'd had to bypass during their recent intrusion.

EDI broke the temporary silence. "I have completed my re-analysis. There wasn't any device similar to the one found in the abandoned mine aboard that research facility."

"Maybe it wasn't mentioned in the files," she responded.

"I can recognise the signal emitted from that indoctrination device anywhere, Shepard. It was _not_ aboard that station."

She knew that, but hearing it didn't make her feel any better.

Things didn't use to be like this before. Coincidences, unexpected circumstances, twists of fate; it seemed like every single one of them had their own share of power over her course, except herself. It felt like she was chasing a fable.

Garrus got up with a sigh and began walking toward his room. "Back to square one. This whole organization mystery is like an infinite loop."

"So is our current method of finding a way to stop the Reapers," Shepard replied, voice quiet and hollow.

Legion looked at her from across the table for a moment, then resumed reading the document he was holding.

She exhaled slowly, then picked up another crew log, her tired eyes wandered restlessly over the texts. It was only an ordinary shipping manifest. She was beginning to think what they had taken from that base contained nothing significant, when Legion spoke and proved her wrong.

"The Prothean artifact was obtained from a freighter." He leaned over and handed his datapad to her. "Broadcasts declared that the ship's transmission inexplicably stopped, after its beacon sent out a distress call reporting a pirate attack. Its current location is unknown."

"It's probably wreckage by now." Her gaze lingered on the word _Nephros_. "EDI, see if you can find this vessel. It might be worth an investigation."

"Very well."

Shepard put the file aside. It didn't mention anything else about what they were looking for, not even the date of the ambush. Perhaps the idea of gaining access to another embedded message, a warning, through this ancient relic was just wishful thinking. She would have to rely on someone else if things were going to proceed this way. Someone she didn't trust at all.

"I have managed to find the ship's crash site: a moon orbiting an ice giant, not far from here," EDI said.

Shepard rose from her chair. "Tell Joker to set a course for there."

"As you wish. Estimated flight duration is fifty minutes."

She turned to Legion. "I need to get some rest. Let me know if you find anything important," she said before leaving the hall, her thoughts elsewhere.

He sat where he was and looked ahead, pensive, then stood up and collected the datapads before going to his room.


	12. Aspects

**Aspects**

"Stay here." It was all Shepard said to the pilot after the quiet shuttle ride.

She stepped out and surveyed the landscape. The sense of vacancy and isolation was palpable. The only things that prevented this celestial body from being called featureless were a number of craters which scarred its surface. Nothing less to expect from a natural satellite with no air, victim to punishing star radiation. Remains of the destructed freighter were scattered over the blue-grey rocky ground, about a hundred metres away from the Commander's sole figure.

She started walking toward the wreckage, her steady footsteps muted in the absence of an atmosphere. The presence of a faint shadow under her feet made Shepard raise her head and stare up at the immense moon nearby. A globe, its surface the colour of mercury with traces of low violet, surrounded by an aura of reflected sunlight. The captivating scene awakened one of her bitter memories, reminding her that the last time she had seen a similar view, it was through a hole breach on the crashing _Normandy_.

Putting those distracting thoughts aside, Shepard made her way to what was left of the cockpit. The consoles were far too damaged for her to retrieve any information. Not that she had expected them to be functional after such an impact.

Disappointed, she left the worn out metallic compartment and examined the remaining debris. The shattered pieces were easy to move in the low gravity. The first few datapads she found didn't have anything valuable, but the content of the last one immediately caught her attention. The document explained how the crew of this vessel had come across an ancient, disc-like artifact.

She skipped to the file attachment at the end of the text. "EDI, I'm sending this to you. See if you can make it out," she said, copying the data with her omni-tool.

"It will take me some time to decrypt it. I will inform you when the process is finished."

When her search was over, Shepard gazed at the final resting place of the freighter. For a moment, reality seemed to blur into flashbacks of what had happened two years ago. An incident she could never forget.

Heaving a sigh, she returned to the Kodiak shuttle, thinking of the corpses that lay behind her, and the ones that would lie ahead.

* * *

_Location: Attican Traverse_

_Exact Coordinates: N/A_

_"The ship was about to discharge its drive core near a gas giant when the pilot told me we were getting a substantial number of odd statics. Normally, I ignore fishy distress calls—we have enough pirates on our tail already—but this thing was interfering with the whole communication system. Turned out to be coming from a decrepit station, trapped in the rings of the same planet. I took a small squad to check the place. Bet the ghosts themselves wouldn't linger there. It didn't take us a lot of time to find the source of those signals. Not a beacon, of course. It looked like a combination of a plate and a cog, with multiple holes. When we approached it, the device… turned itself off. Just like that. I'm pretty sure nobody even touched it, let alone pressed a button._

_I'm no archaeologist, but that thing is old enough to be of Prothean origin. We've put it in the cargo hold for now. It will make us a target if somebody finds out we have such an artifact aboard before we reach our destination._

_Must be cautious."_

Shepard leaned back in her seat and put the datapad on the desk in front of her. The description of the relic was vague, but it helped her form an image of its possible appearance in her head. Or perhaps she just wanted to convince herself that she was making some progress.

She ran a hand through her hair and tried to collect her thoughts. Recalling the infiltration earlier that day, she got up and headed to the elevator, asking EDI where to find Legion. The AI told her that he was in his room and had been occupied with his computer for quite some time since Shepard had left for the mission.

At his door she halted, her fingers briefly hovering near its control panel. Remembering what EDI had mentioned and knowing that Legion would probably not discuss the nature of his activities with her, she chose the option which would open the entrance as silently as possible.

The hatch slid back without making a hiss. Legion was standing behind the table with his back to her, typing on the keypad of his computer, eye focused on its screen. To Shepard's relief, Doctor Chakwas didn't make any sound during the time it took her to get inside and quietly close the door.

She began to step forward-

"Yes, Shepard?" he asked without looking up from the display.

_Should have known better,_ she thought and then walked to his side, completely unembarrassed. "How did you notice me?"

"From numerous factors," Legion replied. "Subtle change in light. Alternation in the texture of the air. Sound of furtively opening the door…"

"But they don't give away my identity," she said, determined not to back down.

"Your perfume does."

A half-smile tugged at her mouth. "I should change it then," she quipped, observing the few equipment placed in the room. She recognised the box positioned next to the railing as the one they had taken from the pirate base.

She moved her gaze to the screen of his computer. It was displaying several windows full of codes and symbols, some of which unfamiliar to her.

"Have you found anything else in those caches that we recovered?" asked Shepard.

"Nothing remarkable."

The phrase 'Access Granted' appeared on the monitor a second later, followed by a list of the private messages of a military organisation.

She arched an eyebrow. "Hacking into companies' systems, Legion?"

"Browsing classified databases," he replied.

"Such contrasting difference," said Shepard sarcastically, and then, nodded at the page. "Bypassing firewalls isn't a favourite pastime of yours. I'm guessing this has something to do with one of our previous missions?"

He quickly scanned the documents, and finding nothing satisfactory, switched off the computer and turned to her. "Elanus Risk Control dispatched an investigation team to the mining facility on Aequitas. They were responsible for the excavation, and were successful in locating an indoctrination device."

"I had my suspicions," Shepard murmured.

"Their bodies were found near the sight. Cause of their death has been declared as gunfire."

She was taken aback by the revelation. "Who killed them?"

"It is currently unknown."

That wasn't what Shepard expected to hear. And what made her more uneasy was the existence of a piece of Reaper technology in the possession of people who had neither the wisdom to use it, nor sufficient knowledge to control its destructive power. She had a feeling she was going to run into another horde of husks in the near future.

"At least now we know who _doesn't_ have that tech. I might forget about it for a while. We have more critical matters at hand." She bent down and picked up the salvaged box from the floor. "Have you finished reading all of these datapads?" she asked, placing the box on the table.

"Yes."

Examining one of the documents, she continued, "Sooner than I anticipated. I guess that's one of the benefits of rarely getting tired—mentally, in this case."

He watched her as she went through the files, almost aimlessly, to keep herself busy as she waited for EDI to finish the analysis.

"Where did you obtain your scar?" Legion asked softly.

She looked up at him, eyes inquiring, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic.

"The one located between your middle and index finger," he added.

She glanced down at the the small faint mark. Of all the questions Shepard would have expected him to ask, that was not one of them. "I have a dangerous occupation, in which getting injuries is a daily routine. What about it interests you?"

"It is an old one, but it has not healed properly. You had been palpating it," he said, and patiently waited for her response.

"Very observant," she replied, face darkening a touch from the remembrance of the event. "I got it on Horizon."

Her eyes were downcast for a long while as fragments of old memories passed through her mind, along with new conflicting feelings that she wasn't even sure how to qualify.

When she looked up, her emotions were under control again. "Do you remember what you told me before, about the geth future?"

"Yes."

"What is your opinion of it?" Shepard asked skeptically.

"You are apprehensive of its consequences," Legion stated with a calm certainty.

There was no point in lying, so she gave voice to the notion that had been bothering her ever since she'd heard of their plans. "Will you become offended if I say it reminds me of the Reapers, or something worse?"

"I do not question your judgement."

"But you don't answer me either."

He was quiet for several seconds, and Shepard began to wonder if he was going to avoid responding again.

"Power requires restriction," he told her by way of a reply.

She assumed an aspect of polite disbelief. "Says the one who had trouble with EDI's limits."

"Perception changes."

"I don't think the other geth will become happy when they hear your philosophy," remarked Shepard.

He regarded her with a cool, calculating expression. "I am not obligated to share all my conclusions with them."

She held his gaze in the silence that followed—an echo of their past conversation that had taken place in the armoury. But this time there was no evasion, no utter secrecy. And for the first time, she found herself believing his words, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Shepard," EDI interrupted.

She slowly looked up at the ceiling. "Yes?"

"I have successfully decrypted those signals. They contain information on a secret Prothean research base, its location, and an urgent request for aid."

"Alright."

EDI continued, "There is something else. It matches one of the coordinates in the navigation data found on the Collector vessel."

A dozen possibilities sprang to the front of her mind upon hearing that statement, all wrapped in incertitude. But Shepard was sure of one thing: wherever those creatures had gone, whatever action they'd taken, they had been by orders of Harbinger.

She turned and went for the door. "Give them to Joker. We're going there."


	13. Deceptive

**Deceptive**

Surrounded by lush vegetation, the vast lagoon was an earthbound mirror of the cerulean sky above. A tranquil beauty, on a planet which had managed to preserve itself from the galactic society's attention.

Shepard stared out as the shuttle flew over the lake, watching the coruscant dance of morning sunlight on the water. Her face was calm, free of tension, but her mind didn't have the same luxury. She couldn't find much comfort in anything these days.

Driven by the Prothean vision, she set out to discover the truth and saw the disconcerting pattern of life unfold before her. Alas, that knowledge proved to be useless for convincing people who wanted to take refuge in their ignorance. Left with the prospect of annihilation, she spent time thinking about her past, of those disillusionments and inner turmoil she'd been hiding behind an animated expression. And from them, one specific memory and its equally disturbing aftermath kept coming back to remind her of how unimportant she was, to most she had once considered to be allies.

She had always reckoned fighting against geth and Cerberus was an honour. What bitter irony that in the end, they were the only factions who hadn't given up on her.

"We are approaching the landing zone," the VI's voice diminished the silence. "Surface temperature is twenty-eight degrees Celsius. Air is breathable. And local fauna is not hostile."

Feeling the slow descent of the shuttle, Shepard turned away from the window and went back to her seat near Thane. "Get ready. We need to do a bit of hiking," she said, looking at Garrus and Legion from across the aisle.

"That's a relief after all those depressing missions," the turian mentioned.

She leaned back in her chair, arms folded. "You might change your tune when we reach the ruins."

He shrugged away her remark. "I take what I can get."

The drell shifted so he could easily see Shepard. "The Collectors aren't known for leaving any traces of their expeditions."

She had thought of the possibility of returning empty-handed. "Still, searching the place is better than ignoring it altogether."

"A shame we didn't have much time to investigate the Collector base," said Garrus, sounding more disappointed than sarcastic.

"That's long past regret, isn't it," Shepard replied, voice altered slightly with shades of remorse.

Her gaze met Legion's in a long moment of understanding, then she resumed looking ahead, disturbed by the nagging reminder of her critical decision aboard that station. Lately, she found herself wondering if she should have taken more time to consider his suggestion of preserving the base—an enticement Shepard had quieted with her repulsion of Cerberus, enmeshed in her mistrustful resolution of the geth's judgement.

_'We'll fight and win without it'_, she had declared proudly before rejecting the technology. And what had seemed to be the absolute correct choice when she'd been standing in that central chamber, had lost its integrity in her desperate journey to find another solution. She knew her virtues alone wouldn't save the fate of this galaxy.

There was a subtle jolt as the Kodiak landed, followed by the familiar hiss of the hatch as it opened. Shepard got up and walked to the extended ramp, inattentive to the conversation between Thane and Garrus. Resting a hand on the doorframe, she looked around the harmonious environment.

It was a grand hall, with tall broadleaf trees reaching up majestically to hold the emerald canopy of tangled leaves. An appeasing hush lingered in the forest, broken only by the sound of rushing water and the silvery twittering of birds. The humidity could easily be ignored in the regular cool breezes which passed from the area, carrying the pleasant fragrance of exotic flowers.

Shepard left the cramped compartment of their flying vehicle and trod onwards, moving in and out of the sunbeams that streamed through the foliage. The ground beneath her feet was still moist from yesterday's rainfall, the earthly smell of wet soil rising to her senses. So natural and different to the industrial odour of the ship she'd begun to call home.

"Not a bad place for spending a vacation after the Reapers' defeat," the turian said as they started toward their destination.

"I commend your optimism, Garrus," Shepard replied wryly.

"You should talk to Grunt. He's delirious with joy. I'm beginning to think Okeer has imprinted some trashy comics into his tank."

"I saw him going to the AI Core today," mentioned Thane.

Eyebrows rising, Shepard turned to Legion who was pacing on her left.

"He inquired if it is possible to modify an M-22 Eviscerator with geth upgrades," he said in response to her questioning expression.

"_Grunt_ asked that?"

"It was not his own question."

"Ahh," said Shepard archly, realising his implication of a certain quarian. "What did you tell him, then?"

Legion looked ahead. "A negative answer."

Somehow she doubted it was all he had to say regarding the topic. Aware of the presence of their other two companions, she decided to drop the subject and ask him about this matter when they were back on their ship.

The soothing sound of water became more intense as they went deeper into the forest. The limited undergrowth did little to obstruct their passage, nor did the roots which protruded from beneath the dirt. Eventually, the trees thinned to reveal a plunging waterfall cascading down over a cliff, and the large pool it had created. A faint rainbow arced over the phenomenal scene, a splash of colour on the light spray-mist in the area.

The group paused, looking at the base of the cliff on the other side of the pool that their maps had indicated was the entrance to the hidden facility. Nothing resembling a door was visible from their position.

They circled the small lake to their destination, brushing past the shrubbery which surrounded the pond, free of the growth limitations within the forest. The close up view of the precipice wasn't very different to the one they saw on the far side of the mere: a vertical rock exposure with no entrance.

Garrus checked the HUD of his visor. "Wrong coordinates?"

Shepard skeptically examined the stone in front of her, then reached out a hand to touch its surface, expecting to feel a concealed switch or control panel, but instead, her fingers went right through an illusory texture.

"Holographic projection." She drew back her hand. "Vigil said it'd taken centuries for the Reapers to completely wipe out the Protheans. I can see why."

"Why not use a fake stone hatch?" asked Garrus. "It would have done the same trick."

"Such obstructions function with electricity. The electric current is easy to detect," Legion replied, then followed Shepard to the other side of the barrier.

The Commander stopped at the beginning of what appeared to be a very long tunnel, at least five metres wide and bearing the same design as the one she'd seen in the mines on Therum. Time seemed to have barely affected the place, as it was almost intact. The only thing which gave away its age was the smell that lingered in the air, like the odour of a tomb, speaking to her of extended dusty years of silence.

The squad began to walk forward, away from the lively exterior and deeper into the mountain. The sound of the waterfall slowly became muted as they gained more distance from the opening, and a few minutes later, all that remained was the quiet of a ruin long forgotten.

Legion turned to Shepard, his brow-plates pointing downwards slightly in concentration. "Something is distorting our communication and positioning systems."

Shepard stopped and looked over her shoulder at the entrance, then back at the circular airlock not far away from them at the end of the tunnel, leading to the underground construction.

"Nobody separates from the group until we disable the jammers," she said, then walked to the door's panel. It needed an identification code to allow access—nothing she couldn't bypass with her own hacking expertise.

There was a sharp hiss as the airlock retracted a little into its frame, then rotated once, twice, before opening the way to a corridor. The area was lit with off-white lamps, their reflection seemed like ghostly figures on the degraded ash grey walls. The passage led to a massive hall, the slate texture of its two rows of columns giving it a monolithic appearance. But it was simply an anterior primeval decoration that didn't last long past the staircase which connected the floor to a windowed control room. The hexagon form of the glass keenly reminded Shepard of the architecture present in the Collector base.

Inside, the room was more destitute of control equipment than she had imagined. A viridian holographic interface here, a command console there, but other than those, the place was completely devoid of furniture.

She switched off what seemed to be the power source of the interior jammers, then checked her omni-tool which indicated the reassuring presence of communication signals. "EDI? Do you read me?"

"Yes, Shepard."

"See if you can dig up any useful information," she said, setting up a link between the console and the _Normandy_.

It was a few seconds before the AI spoke again. "I have managed to compose a schematic of the facility."

A holographic map of the enormous station became visible atop the panel. According to it, the building consisted of three main sections, two of which were parallel with each other, and both ended with a corridor that eventually led to the entrance of the third part. There also seemed to be another way out of this base, only accessible from the last section.

EDI continued: "I do not detect any organic life signs or mechanical activities. It seems to be completely isolated."

"What about the mainframes?" Shepard asked.

"It is impossible for me to obtain the data stored on the servers from this command console. You have to retrieve it manually."

"It's going to take us hours to investigate this facility," mentioned Thane, observing the schematics.

"We split up, two and two," Shepard replied, then turned to Legion. "You and Garrus go to the bio-wing," she said, pointing to the left branch of the station. "Thane and I will investigate the offices, computer servers, and whatever else is in the right wing."

Her index finger hovered over an intersection. "We'll regroup at this junction before entering the tech labs." She let her hand drop by her side. "This plan should save us from retracing our steps. The main priority is finding anything regarding the artifact, because that's probably what Harbinger was looking for."

Taking a step back, she looked at the squad. "Questions?"

"And how are we going to know if something is related to it?" asked Garrus. "I'm not very good at Prothean language."

"Just take a copy of all data you find. We can review it later," she answered as they exited the room. "EDI, are there any more jammers? We can't afford to lose our connection in the middle of this mission."

"All internal security systems are offline."

They passed through an arched doorway and down some steps into a corridor. The rough walls were stained with age, as opposed to the previous areas. Several of the pipes that ran along the ceiling were broken or hanging down. The few bullet holes visible, made it clear that the damage had been caused by gunfight.

"Alright. We part ways here," Shepard said when they reached a junction, then gestured to Thane to bypass the door on their right. She raised a finger to her earpiece, looking at Garrus and Legion. "Secondary comm check. Everybody reading?"

"Receiving," Legion responded.

Garrus nodded, walking to the left airlock. "Loud and clear."

"Use this frequency to contact us," said Shepard, then switched back to the original channel.

Legion faced her. "Any additional orders?"

"No. Just try not to do anything extremely heroic."

"Was that statement directed at us?" he asked calmly, and she realised he was referring to her colourful history of dangerous feats.

"Of course," she retorted. A half-smile briefly lightened her expression.

He left, glancing round at her as he followed Garrus. Shepard turned right and entered the next hallway with Thane. The vague asymmetrical patterns on floor tiles reminded her of the embellishments that existed in Ilos. The Protheans as a race must have had a very artistic nature. Such adornments were rarely seen in a modern-day research base.

"There is one ancient sight like this in Kahje, completely under water and far more damaged than here," Thane told Shepard as they walked along. "Hanar think of it as a sacred temple, and usually visit it once a year for prayers."

"I never understood their fascination for worshipping an extinct species," she replied inoffensively.

"It was a simple respect, but it… escalated eventually."

"It's better that they don't know their deities became genetically altered servants of the Reapers. It'll probably cause a lot of religious infighting."

"It will."

The door to the room on their right slid back as they approached it. It seemed to be sleeping quarters, but all that had remained of them were the impaired oblong frames attached to the side walls, a few storage lockers and bedside tables. The blankets, pillows and mattresses had perished over the course of centuries.

Focusing on their objective, Shepard moved to the cabinets. There was unlikely to find important information in there, but she went through them anyway. The environment was clearly built for a three-fingered race. She could tell as much from the shape of the handles, or the keypad design of the numerous damaged datapads that were on a shelf.

"Found anything in the drawers?" Shepard asked, closing the locker when Thane came back beside her.

"Only dust."

They went out of the accommodation and continued through the hallway that ultimately led to the mainframes' chamber. The hall was in total darkness; all lamps were either broken or dead, but even in the murk Shepard could tell that the servers had been completely destroyed.

"No wonder EDI couldn't access them," she remarked, looking at what was left of the computer.

"There's something under the scraps." The drell pointed to the far corner of the room, where a small green rectangular object was dimly shining beneath a layer of metal flakes. The two moved to the source of the light, which turned out to be a datapad, still functioning, unlike the previous ones they had found.

Shepard crouched and cleared the debris away before picking up the document.

"It's a résumé," she told Thane, reading the file as they walked back to the lit corridor. "It mentions the few thousand Protheans who survived the initial Reaper attack, hid and tried to find a way to fight against them. Apparently, one of their goals was searching for the technology to resist indoctrination, since they were losing more people because of treachery, than bombardment."

"Did they succeed?"

"Doesn't say." She looked up, contemplative. "The VI we encountered on Ilos said it was grateful that we weren't artificial intelligence or indoctrinated. It had the ability to recognise those who had been brainwashed, so their research must have reached some degree of fruition."

Shepard shifted her attention back to the file. "But this is flagged as a subsidiary scheme. It wasn't the main project they were working on in here."

They began striding forward.

"There is a missing piece in this Prothean extinction mystery that's been keeping my mind busy for a while," she said thoughtfully. "The Reapers always leave behind one of their own to observe the development of sentient races and inform the others when those races reach a certain level of advancement. Yet we hadn't gained anything close to half of the Protheans' industrial or scientific knowledge when Sovereign began the preparations for our demise. Our genes haven't changed much in the last few centuries, either."

"Are you suggesting the Reapers were forced to take action sooner in our generation?" Thane questioned.

"That, or something had disrupted the Protheans' cycle of-"

The muffled sound of an explosion and the momentary trembling of the building made both of them come to an abrupt stop, the datapad tumbling forgotten onto the floor.

Thane turned to Shepard. "It was from the left part of the facility!"

A pang of apprehension came to her unbidden, and she did her best to keep most it from showing on her face. She quickly switched the comm channel. "Legion, what's happening there?" Shepard demanded.

Several seconds past, but she didn't get an answer.

"Legion? … Garrus?"

An immediate check with the omni-tool proved her suspicions as to their lack of response: zero communication signals.

"Dammit!" She looked up from the display, frustrated.

"What are we going to do?" asked Thane.

"We're going there," she replied and began moving with hasty steps back in the direction they'd come from. "This is definitely not a mere coincidence."


	14. Minacious

**Minacious**

The hallway was empty, shrouded with a thick layer of dust that had settled over the millennia. A single white lamp was the only thing that saved it from falling into total obscurity. Stillness wasn't unexpected in an ancient passage, but there was something different about the hollow, sepulchral silence which lingered in the area. Like it was foretelling of hidden perils.

The bio-wing door slid back, opening the way to a straight metal staircase and what appeared to be a laboratory, visible in the ghostly light of the corridor behind.

"And I thought Ilos was unnerving," Garrus remarked as they went down the steps.

The place was much larger than initially anticipated, furnished with rows of operating tables, all equipped with unfamiliar devices, testing apparatus, and computers. Pipes ran the length of the walls and high above along the ceiling. The faint luminosity of a sign on the far side of the hall indicated the presence of an exit airlock. Whatever else existed in the hall could not be seen in the darkness.

"No power," Legion said after flicking on the light switch on the wall.

"That would have been too good I guess," Garrus replied, then moved to the desk to his right and began his search.

Legion stood at the bottom of the stairs and surveyed the environment for a few moments, as watchful and calculative as ever, then he walked onwards, passing shelves containing numerous vials of different sizes and colours. Examining them would be fascinating to an organic, but not to him. He was only there for information.

He stopped behind the first table in front of him. It was dull grey and degraded. Brushing off the dust covering a small rectangular desk sign revealed lettering inscribed in what was obviously Prothean language. The name of one of the personnel perhaps, or a specific operation which used to run at this position.

Legion pulled out the drawer and methodically went through the files and equipment stored inside: stirring rods, forceps, medicine droppers and several datapads, all empty but one. It didn't seem to be a scientific report or a chart for experimental estimation. Judging by the bold headline, it was a news article, accompanied with a clear photo of the enigmatic planet now known as Preying Mouth…

"Legion?"

"Yes?" he answered, looking over his shoulder at the turian, who was standing behind one of tables in the first row.

"I'm getting the same error from all of these computers—which I can't even read, by the way."

"Most likely failure of the connection to the mainframe," Legion replied, then placed the document back on the table and gazed around intently, trying to locate the source of the problem. The console was located next to the left wall; its uniform viridian surface glinted in the light of his eye as he started walking in its direction. The sound of his measured treads echoed as he crossed the vast hall.

The console wasn't much different to the ones they'd encountered already—a hexagonal interface connected to a base with asymmetrical patterns. He tried the keypad. It wasn't working. After all these years, it was no wonder that its electrical components had ceased to function. If there was one thing that had survived, it was the memory card. They always had more durability than the other parts of a system. Protecting data under all circumstances was vital, especially when the fate of your species was on the line.

He crouched and opened the hardware panel. The seal on it gave way as soon as he pulled the lid slightly. The devices inside weren't very different to those that this generation used, just a bit rusty.

"No luck bringing it back to life?" Garrus asked as he came closer.

"No."

The turian moved to the shelf near his synthetic company and picked up a tinted glass bottle of medium size. "We can take some of these as a souvenir for Mordin, just to make the trip worthwhile."

Legion glanced up at what Garrus was holding, then resumed his activity. It wasn't until he took out the memory card and closed the lid, that he noticed a trace of grey-green fluid on the floor, about a metre away from the mainframe computer. He stood up and walked closer to inspect the foreign liquid. It had no biological odour, but what caught his attention was the absence of dust on its surface.

"It has not been vaporized," Legion said to Garrus as he came to his side and looked down at the fluid.

"Glad it hasn't. I happen to breathe this air," remarked Garrus, then checked the ceiling. Even though it was very dark, it was possible to tell that the tubes above were intact. "Doesn't seem to be leakage from the pipes," he stated, the satirical tone not present in his voice this time.

Only a few seconds later, the abrupt sound of a glass shattering on the floor broke the deathly silence, immediately dragging the concentration of both of them away from the trace of liquid, to the far right corner of the room where the noise had originated.

There was a moment of hesitation, then they pulled out their weapons and ventured forward without exchanging any words. Whatever was hiding in the darkness already had the advantage of knowing their location.

Aside from scattered broken pieces of glass, there was nothing else in the corner when they reached it. Apparently, it had fallen from a nearby operating table. No sign of the cause.

"I'm not picking any thermal emissions," said Garrus, looking down at his radar.

Unconvinced that it was just a normal incident, Legion warily approached the large shelf nearby and checked the area behind it.

Empty.

He was about to return when he sensed a sudden change in the texture of the air, an indication that something was closing in on him apace. He quickly turned around, bringing up his sniper, only managing to take in the overall monstrous profile of a slender humanoid creature with clawed hands, before receiving a powerful hit that hurled him backwards ten metres down the hall, sending him into a console. The device smashed on impact, releasing a strong electrical charge, and it was only by diverting the majority of the current to his omni-tool, that his critical systems were saved from an instant overload.

The Widow was gone for good, lost in the darkness. He knew as much when he got back to his feet, pulling out his assault rifle and looking over in the direction of the gunfire taking place in the middle of the room. In the momentary flashes of light, he registered Garrus backing away and shooting at a creature which bore the distinctive feature of tubes over its ashen skin. A skin which seemed to be very resistant to bullets.

The smell of smoke and the hissing sound of gas made Legion turn back to the broken machinery. The damaged pipe next to it was on fire. Wasting no more time, he ran away from the console and towards Garrus. Fighting unknown entities in a situation like this was not an option. They had to get out of there. Now.

Focused on attacking the turian, the abomination didn't notice its other opponent as he ran to the freestanding medical shelf behind and pushed. It moved, falling on the creature and slamming it to the floor.

"Explosion imminent!" Legion exclaimed and started running towards the airlock at the end of the hall.

A glance at the burning machinery was enough to convince Garrus to sprint for the exit. They hadn't taken more than a few steps when the first blast occurred, small, but enough to dislocate the broken gas pipe completely, resulting in another explosion, this time with a force that sent all the operating equipment around it flying across the room—a room which was filled with flammable material.

They dashed to the entrance, trying hard to dodge the collapsing debris falling from overhead, ignoring their previous target which was scrambling upright from under the locker. The barrier in front slid back automatically as they neared, giving them access to a huge lit warehouse built on four levels of sizeable platforms. The double doors on the opposite side seemed to be the only way out of there, and even from this distance, it was easy to guess from the red warning light of its impaired control panel, that it had malfunctioned.

"What the hell was that?!" Garrus questioned as they entered the new area.

"Has it been terminated?" asked Legion, shutting down the hatch and then searching through its glass panel.

The response came in the form of a deep hollow groan from the far dark corner to their right, the thick fumes surrounding it indicating its connection to the laboratory. The emergency exit, of course.

"That can't be good," Garrus murmured as they cautiously moved back toward the long staircase leading to the next level, eyes fixed on the other side. The horrible groan repeated, and they didn't wait for the source to appear out of the darkness before they turning and running up the stairs, trying to get as far from it as possible.

Garrus switched on the secondary communication channel with haste. "Shepard! We're probably screwed!"

He waited, but an answer never came, and it was then that he noticed that their systems had been jammed.

"Ah, we're definitely screwed."

They paused at the top of the steps, trying to take in their surroundings. The place housed many containers and looked relatively similar to the lower level, aside from the fact that it was smaller, giving them less room to manoeuvre.

Aware that their enemy was following them at a fast pace, the two sprinted to the farthest set of boxes located near the guardrail and took shelter.

"Tell me you have a plan for killing it," Garrus said in a low voice, reloading his assault rifle.

"None that would not result in one or both of us being eliminated," Legion replied quietly.

"That sounds promising." Garrus briefly edged out of their cover and risked a glance. The creature was already on the second floor, but it didn't seem to be aware of their current location, as it was moving away from them. Its backside now bore burning scars, a sign that fire was effective against its hard skin.

"There's a ventilation shaft in the forth level," hastened Garrus. "We should be able to get to it if you use your combat drone to distract the-"

"My omni-tool has zero functionality," Legion interrupted. "It has been completely burnt out by electrical charge," he added, to which Garrus responded with a momentary stare of disbelief when he realised the severity of their situation.

In the midst of struggling to break the hold of the jammer over their systems, the absence of the uneven walking noises of their opponent alarmed Legion.

"Move!" That was all he managed to say to Garrus as he rolled away from their cover before it was hit with a powerful slash.

The small delay in Garrus' reaction cost him dearly. His lack of bracing for the sudden impact made him stumble to one side, and even though he reached out and grabbed the guardrail, the second sweep was enough to hurl him over the railing. And as he fell downwards to the floor, he saw Legion on the periphery of his vision, shooting at the creature, trying to close in on the turian for aid. That was all he registered before feeling a sharp pain in the head after his collision with the ground, and then his sight blurred into a dark pit, leading all the way down to oblivion…

* * *

The weapon stopped firing again as the heatsink exceeded its capacity. Knowing that he had no more clips to replace it, Legion spun round and raced up the stairs, taking them three at a time, aware that his enemy was following him to the upper platforms. Reaching the top of the steps, he halted, quickly observing the area, and then ran to hide behind some containers in the back, a place that seemed to be hard to detect.

Leaning against the cover, he looked at the creature's vague reflection on the smooth surface of a nearby metal crate. It was moaning and wandering the area rather aimlessly, as if it was not searching for anyone—typical behaviour of all variety of husks.

He directed his attention back to bypassing the jamming program. Whatever was interfering with their systems was very sophisticated, the like of which he'd only encountered in one other place.

The communication started connecting again. "…-rrus?… Somebody answers me!"

"Shepard," Legion whispered. He heard her sigh of relief.

"I'm having trouble maintaining a connection with you," she said. "What's happening there?"

"We are trapped. Garrus is unconscious. I am defenseless. And there is an unidentified hostile chasing after me."

"What? Where are you? We can't find your locatio-"

Her voice dissolved into static, and judging from her last comment, Legion knew that just standing there waiting for backup would not end well. He examined his surroundings, trying to find some sort of explosives, but there didn't seem to be any around. The fact that he was unable to read the signs on any containers, was not helping much.

A quiet beep coming from his left side made Legion turn. About thirty feet away from him was a console, its display showing holographic schematics of the room's ventilation system. He used the blueprints to search the hall. The shaft had a similar design to the ones in the Collector base, and ran alongside a part of the opposite platform on the fourth level. Its thermal vent gates discharged smoke once in a while, which undoubtedly had an extremely high temperature, considering that the channel was carrying air from the burning laboratory. And that was with its cooling systems active…

A plan began to take shape in his head. He took out his weapon and started to carefully dismantle it, trying not to make any noise. There was a fairly loud _click_ as the outer shell of the gun came off. Legion stopped and checked the reflection of the monster. It still appeared to be oblivious to his presence. He detached the mass accelerator and the slug chamber connected to it, and left the remaining parts of the rifle on the box next to him before leaning out of his cover and then slowly walking to the panel, eye focused on the creature. It was creeping away with its back to him. If he was lucky, he could reach the controls without being detected.

Suddenly it turned around, noticing Legion, who without hesitation broke into a sprint, relying on speed to reach the console before his enemy could close in on him. The process of turning off the vent's cooling system turned out to be more time consuming than he had anticipated, the lack of an omni-tool making it even more difficult. He typed rapidly on the keypad, remaining watchful of the seconds left before he would be receiving the first strike from his opponent. _Five… Four… Three… Two…_

He entered the final command, and quickly went for the nearest escape route, jumping on the crate in front of him and then leaping forward over the guardrail to grab the vertical pipes attached to the wall three metres away, dodging the creature's vicious lash by a fraction.

He looked up at his destination. A portion of the topmost platform was close enough to the pipes, and so he began to climb up, ignoring the abomination's futile attempts to claw at him. By the time Legion had traversed to the right and pulled up from under the railing, the monster had already run up the stairs and was on the same floor. Just what he wanted.

He got to his feet and dashed for the nearest thermal vent gate of the shaft in front, vaulting over the crates and containers that were blocking his way and gaining some distance from the creature, which had neither the intelligence nor the dexterity to follow a similar path to get past the obstacles.

Reaching the shaft, he examined the gate with haste and located its cover. It was sealed tightly and he had to use a lot of exertion to open it. It came off with a sharp hiss, releasing a considerable amount of incredibly hot vapour.

The low pitched growl coming from behind made Legion turn to the creature. It was advancing on him. Fast.

Focused on survival, he quickly took out the small mass accelerator and the slug chamber connected to it, attached them to the small slot in the gate and then shut it as fast as he could. Studying the schematics of the malfunctioning heavy weapon, he'd learned that the sudden heat and pressure increase would be enough to cause a tremendous combustion.

He didn't want to experience the result himself. Determined to just get away from the vent before it discharged steam again, he ran to the unguarded part of the platform to his right and flung himself forward, diving for the chain hanging from the ceiling, metres away from the ledge. His hands closed around the metal just in time to catch its loose end. Using his own weight, he swung to the opposite walkway on the third floor, released his hold on the chain, and dropped down in a catlike crouch. Behind him the shaft's valve exploded, leading to a set of detonations that purged the fourth level in a huge inferno. What little was left of it came crashing onto the lower floors of the opposite section, and then brought them down with it to the ground.

Legion stood up, looking at the flames below, then started walking toward the staircase leading down.

* * *

The double doors at the end of the corridor finally heaved aside after minutes of nonstop hacking.

The ground on the left side of the large hall was covered with wreckage that was on fire, but the rest of the place seemed to be structurally intact. It wasn't anything like the burning laboratory that had blocked their way earlier—a sight that had made her even more anxious, especially after she'd realised that they had to go back to where they had come from to enter the bio-wing from another side.

Raising her shotgun, Shepard cautiously moved inside, followed by Thane close behind. There weren't any signs of an abomination, or her two missing squad mates. She dragged her gaze back to the fire, a dozen unsettling thoughts coming to the front of her mind.

It was then that she spotted someone in the corner of her vision, lying to her right on the ground.

"Garrus!" Shepard rushed to his side. A quick checkup with her omni-tool showed several injuries to muscle tissues, nondisplaced rib fractures, and uneven breathing. No fatal damage to any of his organs.

"We need to get him out of here," said Thane, placing the turian's breathing mask over his head.

The sound of hasty footsteps coming down the staircase behind made both of them grab their guns and turn around, ready to pull the trigger.

Recognising the figure in front of her, Shepard lowered her weapon, exhaling in relief.

"I was beginning to think you were dead," she told Legion as he walked to her side. His armour was partially dirtied from moving in the ancient area, but other than that he looked fine. And unarmed.

She didn't ask him why. She didn't question him about anything as he bent down to help Thane pick up Garrus' limp form, before following her back through the offices and then to the entrance of this cursed facility. The situation was so dire that she was having a hard time trying to convince herself that the mission was not just a total failure.

The light of outside world eventually became visible as they tramped toward the opening of the tunnel, the rushing sound of water and the twittering of birds getting louder with each passing second, but none of those could dispel the dispirited mood that lingered in the air.

They were a hundred metres away from the base, in the middle of the forest, when their communication and positioning systems began to come back to life again. They realised this when Joker interrupted their silence, confused and curious, with his usual humorous tone.

"Send the shuttle to pick us up. We've got a casualty," Shepard cut across him, not sharing his cheeriness.

It was no more than a few minutes before the Kodiak arrived, landing near them on a place that wasn't shielded with foliage.

The ride back to the _Normandy_ was short and mainly quiet. The only conversation that took place was about the nature of the ambush and the attacker, which brought a dozen possibilities to the front of Shepard's mind. And all of the conclusions she formed with the facts currently at hand, were troubling.

"Why even encounter some sort of husk in an ancient Prothean ruin?" she asked, then turned to the shuttle's hatch as it opened. Mordin was already waiting in the cargo hold with his necessary equipment.

The salarian came inside the cramped compartment and crouched near Garrus, who was lying securely on the floor. "Another missile to the head?"

"Fell from the second level of a warehouse after receiving multiple powerful strikes from a hostile entity," Legion replied.

The Doctor scanned the turian with his omni-tool. "Hmm. Handful of injuries in ribcage, shoulders, neck, and back of the skull. Interesting. Should be up and running in an hour," he mused, then looked up at Shepard and the others who were standing above him. "Need some room for manoeuvre. Get out of here?"

"As you wish," said Shepard before stepping out into the cargo hold, smiling very faintly at the Doctor's behaviour. The smile disappeared when her eyes fell upon the floating holographic blue sphere of the ship's AI. It was difficult to forget that half of this plight had been caused by her miscalculation.

"Shepard," EDI started, rather hesitant.

"It was supposed to be with no online security systems, free of any mechanical or organic inhabitants," she replied, her voice steady. "I almost lost two of my squad members."

There was a pause. "I have yet not discovered the cause of the distortion. It was very sophisticated," EDI explained.

The Commander stared impassively at the hologram for a brief duration, then walked toward the elevator. "Head to the Citadel, Joker."

"Not for a shore leave, I take it," the pilot quipped.

She stepped inside and pressed the first deck button, looking straight ahead as the door closed behind her and the lift started moving upward. "No. Not for a shore leave."

* * *

Starboard cargo; an uninhabited area of the ship where you could stay for a long time without being disturbed. She didn't remember visiting it more than once or twice. Her eyes lingered on the serene view of the space, outside, through the cold glass. Quiet and full of mysteries. Same as the other person present in the room at the moment.

"I expected to find you in the server room as usual." Shepard started the conversation and shifted her gaze to Legion, who was standing behind the table opposite the window. He rarely talked when not spoken to, she knew that much.

He didn't look away from the display on his computer. "Was testing an equipment. Our groundside communication system has at least eight known exploits." Turning to her, he continued: "Managed to retrieve the memory card of one of the mainframe computers."

A slight frown creased her forehead. "What's stored on it?"

"Unknown. It is being decoded." He picked up a datapad from the desk and handed it to her as she came to his side. "I require your authorization."

She scanned the file. It was a form for gaining access to certain equipment in the armoury. She'd nearly forgotten all about that heavy weapon.

"I don't remember seeing such a device in the original schematics," said Shepard, reading the details.

"Made modifications."

"So," she signed the file and held it out for him. "Can you upgrade an Eviscerator with geth technology?"

His expression was expectant. Not that she wanted to catch him off-guard anyway. It was almost impossible to find him unprepared these days. Sometimes she wondered when she had become that predictable to him.

"Depends on the individual who wields it."

"A Commander named Shepard?"

"I will be able to," Legion replied placidly, taking the datapad from her and placing it on the table, his gaze not straying from hers. "That was a hypothetical request. What is the real inquiry?"

She leaned back a little on the desk. "I'm more interested in your reason for not helping Tali."

"She did not provide me with a convincing reason to assist her."

Shepard folded her arms. "Isn't being part of this team enough?"

"Would you give the Thanix cannon's schematics to a batarian representative with an anti-human history?" Legion asked, and she didn't say anything because the answer was obvious.

Watching him return to his computer and continue his activity, as much as Shepard wanted to counter his response with a remark, she knew the meaning of his words were completely relevant. And there was no point in pretending, because both of them knew what was really happening behind the curtain.

"How do you explain your presence in my team with your own logic?" She questioned softly, out of curiosity.

"With minimum difficulty," replied Legion. "However, I fail to explain it with yours."

How indeed. He had been subjected to the mistrust of everyone, including her, ever since he first set foot on this ship. Been dragged and thrown onto this ship, she corrected herself.

"I wanted to leave you inactive on the table."

It sounded implausible, and he didn't buy it. "That is contrary to the reality."

"I needed answers. Still haven't got them." She waited for his reaction. None whatsoever.

His gaze remained on the screen as he typed, but she registered a touch of lightness in his voice when he began speaking. "You are very persistent in obtaining what you desire."

She arched an eyebrow. "Was that another simple observation, or have I finally managed to awaken a feeling in you, called annoyance?"

"Neither."

The conversation was cut short when the computer beeped, indicating that its processing was over.

"What do we have?" Shepard asked, looking at the display.

"Voice logs, and…" His brow-plates pointed downwards slightly in concentration. "Traces of recent modifications."

No surprise that almost all the data sources in the facility had contained no information. "How recent?"

"Not possible to say without more decryption. It is not supposed to be detectable."

Shepard glanced down at her watch, then straightened. "Send the logs to my private terminal and don't occupy yourself with any kind of lengthy tasks. I'm taking you to the Citadel."

He regarded her for a few seconds. "Will you meet the Council?"

"I will," she said, determined, and started walking to the airlock.

"My presence might provoke unfavourable reactions," Legion mentioned.

"Probably. But I may need living proof that the geth can be reasoned with."

He turned his head in her direction. "Can this Council be reasoned with?"

Shepard stopped in the doorway. She knew he already had the answer, and that what he'd said was only a reminder of the unreliability of those who claimed to have an alliance with her.

"I hope," she said, barely a whisper, before leaving the room.


	15. Verdict

**Verdict**

It seemed like it was yesterday when she had first started her journey, determined to prove her abilities, with an expectation of triumph. It hadn't lasted long. There wasn't anything victorious or satisfying about the trail of dead that had been left behind, coloured with the blood of friend and foe alike. Memories from another life.

Shepard pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and continued to pick up her weapons. Not that they were going to help her in the upcoming battle. This wasn't going to be like the previous ones where she had overcome her opponents with the power of bullets.

The pistol, SMG and shotgun, she secured to her holster before heading to the door, picking up an Avenger and a M-97 sniper on the way out for her partner, whom she'd usually found in the armoury getting ready for the missions, sooner than herself. Most people felt overwhelmed by their thoughts of the possible consequences of an assignment, and Shepard knew it even though they all tried to pretend otherwise. But not him. Submission was not in his nature.

She didn't have to search too hard for Legion as he came out of the elevator when she stepped into the CIC area.

"You're late," Shepard said, greeting him with a half-smile and holding out the weapons for him.

"Did you check your inbox?" he asked.

This was important. She could tell that immediately from his tone, like his mind was occupied elsewhere. "No. You sent anything new?"

"Finished the data decryption." He paused before adding, "The files were modified days after destroying the Collector Base."

Whatever fortitude she had mustered for the meeting, faded away as it dawned on her what he meant. She'd known the Reapers wouldn't just wait around for her to find a way to exterminate them, but to discover that they had already been at work, was perturbing.

"We're docked, Commander," Joker announced.

Legion grabbed the weapons from Shepard.

"Are you certain?" she asked, still taken aback by the news.

"Yes." He holstered the guns as they both walked to the gate. "The most reasonable conclusion is that they have been altered remotely."

For what purpose, was the question which was troubling Shepard. The first time she'd seen one of their enemies, it was in the midst of a vehement introduction with the geth. Sovereign hadn't exactly been subtle, and its army of synthetics had soon gathered a lot of attention—Attention that had before long, led to its demise.

But the Reapers had learned their lessons that day, and she knew that just waiting for a sign of disruption was not going to get her anywhere.

"What did the voice logs contain?" questioned Legion.

"Warning messages of the Reaper invasion. Like all the others I came across." She looked at the airlock ahead as it rotated, hissing, before opening the way to the so-familiar docking bay of the Citadel.

They stepped into the next area, crowded with people of different races going about their business, or talking animated with bursts of laughter, exchanging greetings and farewells. And the two of them seemed no more than casual visitors to others as they crossed the path to the elevator. Its music was the same, so was its agonising slowness, but Shepard paid no attention and instead kept her eyes on the reflections of light appearing on the interior of the lift as it descended.

"You suspect the meeting will not end desirably," she heard Legion say. When she looked at him, he was watching the view through the glass, pensive.

"I have more than enough logical evidence to convince people that the threat is real," she replied.

He regarded her, and Shepard had a disconcerting feeling that her thoughts were plain for him to see.

"I fear the Council is immune to logic," she added, not sounding as confident as before.

She didn't know what else he wanted to say. That maybe it was better to turn around, go back to the ship, and forget all about this meeting? That maybe, all this time, she had been nothing but a mere pawn in their cruel game of political dominance? Or simply just, why?

Because she was desperate. And the prospect of an inevitable annihilation was far harder to bear than the idea of standing in front of the Council, being humiliated for the fragility of her mind and her inane delusions.

The lift ground to a halt.

"Any additional orders?" he asked.

"Nothing comes to mind." She walked out and faced him. "We'll just use the transit station and head straight to the Presidium. And if we're lucky, we won't have to deal with Udina."

His gaze shifted to something behind her, one brow-plate moved upward slightly.

"Shepard!" she heard a familiar voice call. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing out slowly with irritation, before turning to look at the person who was coming to her side.

"Ambassador Udina," she greeted, with a perfunctory smile that did nothing to dispel the displeasure in her voice.

"What's this?" He suspiciously eyed Legion, who in return kept his cool posture. Shepard had the impression he was actually being amused by all this. Good for him, because she was using every ounce of her self-restraint not to punch Udina in the face and get on with her mission.

"He's… an amicable autonomous mobile platform," she replied, carefully leaving out the word 'geth', and then changing the subject: "What brings you to this part of the Citadel?"

"Need to go to the docking bay for an important matter. I've already given instructions, but some people must be whacked a few times in the head before they get the job done."

She reached out a hand without actually touching him. "It was nice seeing you, Ambassador. Now if you don't mind, we have to go."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you going to attend a meeting?"

She had hoped to avoid having this conversation with him.

"We are," said Shepard, bracing herself for a verbal assault.

"You _what?_ With this _geth?_"

"Thank you for your recommendations," she interrupted before hearing what else he had to say, then brushed past him and went straight for the opposite elevator, because she didn't want to wait for a cab and listen to Udina going on.

"Shepard! Keep that thing away before it causes a shitstorm! This is outrageous! You will not-"

Whatever else he was demanding became muffled shouts as Shepard quickly closed the door and pressed the button for the upper level. Having a glass barrier for the hatch meant that she had the honour of seeing Udina yelling and shaking his fist at her as long as she was in sight.

She dismissively turned away from the panel, her gaze falling on her companion who was watching what was going on outside, the subtle movements of his facial plates telling her that he was observing the view with mild delectation.

"This isn't funny, Legion," said Shepard.

He took a step back, face resuming its usual impassivity. "It is not."

His attempt to hide his humour made her smile—something she couldn't remember doing in days aside for keeping up a social pretense or just for the sake of her team's morale. And she made no attempt to hide it. Her full lips curved upwards wickedly when her eyes met his, her features illuminated by the soft light of the lift. His expression remained unfathomable, but his gaze lingered over her face for far longer than usual before he directed it back to the entrance as it opened.

The Presidium; the scintillating heart of the Citadel, with its lush vegetation, tranquil lake, and gentle breezes. The artificial midday sunlight bathed the place in an appealing aura.

A heavenly beautiful place for a trap.

Legion gave the alluring scenery no more than a cursory glance as they headed for the offices, but Shepard paused, briefly repelled by the sight of the Conduit, imposing and tall, at the far side of the opposite bridge.

"Would you prefer I remain outside?" asked Legion when they approached the last flight of stairs. "Considering the previous confrontation."

"It's all a charade. Your presence is not going to change the decision they've already taken," Shepard replied, stopping as they reached the door to Anderson's office.

He was arguing with someone over the phone. The conversation was not about her, she could tell as much. It didn't make the situation any better, however. He had been fighting with politicians ever since Shepard had chosen him as a Councilor, thinking she had been doing humanity a favour. She had, and sacrificed the rest of his life in the process.

Both of them had been struggling to convince others of the existence of the Reaper threat. The difference was that she could always go back to her ship and get away from this place. He was stuck here forever.

The conversation ended.

Shepard stared at the door for a while, contemplative, then opened it and went inside. Anderson was close to the balcony with his back to her, hands clasped behind him, watching the everyday life. And for a moment, in the image of this broken man, she saw the reflections of an old Captain, standing on the bridge of a now-burnt _Normandy_…

"Anderson?" she called his name, mostly to drag herself out of the memories.

"Shepard," he said, keeping his gaze ahead. "Udina didn't give you much trouble in the Atrium, did he?"

"I can't believe he isn't here."

"He sent me a message right after he ran into you, informing me of your new… ally." He turned to Shepard, then to the quiet one who was standing beside her. If Anderson was surprised by Legion's unique appearance, he didn't show it. "And that I should have C-Sec stand by, just in case," he added.

"Are they?"

"Please. You're talking to the person who knocked out an Ambassador to bypass a lockdown," he reminded. His expression lightened minutely from the memory of hitting Udina. "But don't think for a moment you'll get the same reaction from the other Councilors."

Shepard looked at the three empty consoles next to the right wall.

"I'm not important enough anymore for them to have a meeting in the Tower, am I? Just good for filling the news columns and eliminating superstitious creatures." Her voice carried bitter irony. All those heroic feats she had done for the galaxy, and she was no different to a normal soldier to them.

Anderson shook his head with melancholy. "A lot is happening that you aren't aware of. Hackett and I are having a tough time keeping the Alliance off your tail."

For a second, Shepard wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. "What's going on?"

He returned to the balcony, thoughtful, deciding how much information he could reveal. "I trust your judgement, Shepard. But your actions are becoming too much to chew on for short-sighted politicians." He let out a tired sigh. "They are still arguing with militants over thermal clips because they are geth inventions, and officially announced that Sovereign was their technology. You know that already."

"But this isn't about me bringing a geth to the Citadel. What aren't you telling me?" she questioned, sounding steady, even though she was beginning to feel a twinge of distress.

Whatever he wanted to say was interrupted when the consoles started to come to life, an indication that the meeting was going to begin shortly.

Anderson quickly came to her side. "Leave out the unnecessary details." He faced the panels as holographic images of the other Councilors became visible. "And don't mention anything about having an alliance with the geth," he added quietly.

Shepard wasn't going to. She wasn't going to mention a great deal of things that she had planned to talk about while indexing her evidence. But this meeting didn't seem to be about the Reapers at all.

She looked sideways at Legion, standing with composed dignity to her right, and for a moment, she envied his lack of chemical-based emotions. He was having an easier time keeping that professional expression, which she was maintaining only by relying on her years of experience.

Shepard shifted her attention back ahead to the three Councilors standing imperiously in their respective positions. Searching their faces for a modicum of understanding, or perhaps even sympathy, she found none.

"Councilor Anderson." The asari began going through the initial formalities. "Commander Shepard…" her voice trailed off as her gaze fell on Legion.

She was suspicious. The salarian was suspicious. The turian was outraged, but remained silent. What a surprise, Shepard thought. And as bad as it sounded even to herself, she felt secretly proud for bringing this specific team member to anger _him_ further.

"There were some unsettling reports that you were working with the geth," the asari soon continued.

He was only one platform, but Shepard doubted bringing up the subject of individuality regarding his race would do her any benefit.

"He has been assisting us," she replied simply instead.

"And how does it achieve that?"

Shepard paused a moment. 'He has been helping us hack into your systems'. No, that wasn't going to aid her. "He helped us infiltrate the Collector base located in the galactic core."

"Yes, we have received the files you sent a few hours ago, along with your explanations," said the asari, looking down at what Shepard guessed should be the documents she'd forwarded. "It is indeed troubling to discover that their species were attacking humans on such a large scale."

There it was, the same nonchalant attitude. So oblivious that Shepard briefly wondered if she had forgotten to send the schematics of Harbinger.

"They were doing it under the supervision of a Reaper," she reminded, keeping her voice even.

"This again, Shepard?" the turian spoke at last with scorn.

"I brought evidence," she said firmly.

"What I'm reading here is that you practically destroyed this evidence which you speak of." He fixed her with a predatory gaze. "Why would anyone eradicate the very thing that can prove the honesty of their words?"

And it was all back to that central chamber, the technology of an everlasting race in her mortal hands, and a rejection she had considered to be a victory. But no-one was praising her today for it, here, where she was standing next to the same person who had tried to reason with her not to do it. And in front of those who were eagerly waiting for her to give them an excuse so they could declare the verdict on which they had already decided.

There had been no time to think, to calculate consequences or trajectories. But those justifications didn't sound convincing, not even to her somber consciousness.

"It was not salvageable," answered Legion instead of her, clear and serious, defending her testimony even though they both knew that was not really the case.

The turian was taken aback for a moment by the unexpected reply, but soon composed himself and continued with his cynicism. "I was talking to the _Commander_."

"I was merely stating the obvious," Legion said calmly, putting a careful amount of stress on the last word to define his point.

Shepard spoke before the turian could open his mouth again. "We've also managed to uncover warning messages of the invasion from an ancient Prothean ruin. I can vividly understand them, with the help of the Cipher."

"And what is this Cipher, Commander Shepard?" the asari questioned this time.

"The knowledge to understand the collective unconscious of the Protheans."

"So it says in one of your older mission reports," returned the Councilor, checking her notes impassively. The other two were less practised at not showing their opinion, and disbelief was evident on their faces. "And do you have anyone else to validate the content of these logs?"

Shepard had an overwhelming sense of having been manoeuvred into a corner. "Shiala. She's currently a resident of Zhu's Hope."

The turian snorted. "The former follower of Saren Arterius, the rogue Spectre who conquered the Citadel." He turned to Legion. "With a devastating fleet of geth."

"And our sources say that you may have been contacted by the rachni," the salarian said, distrustful. "Is that true?"

To admit that would have only added to her problems.

Shepard collected herself, resolute. "No, that is not true."

"We understand your determination to defeat the things which you perceive as the masterminds behind these anguishing incidents," said the asari Councilor. "But we can't spare any resources for this matter." She finally announced the refusal, so easy and indifferent.

"You can't," Shepard repeated, voice quiet and bearing no emotion.

"Your evidence might be plentiful, but none of them really elucidates the existence of an armada of sentient ships, living in dark space and waiting, before coming back to the galaxy to harvest organic life," the salarian added.

She had to put a lot of effort to keep her volume down. "Do you even want to believe anything, or are you going to wait in ignorance until the threat presents itself at your very doorsteps?"

"You are not in a position to accuse us of anything, Commander Shepard. Nor do you have the power to demand that we take your desired action."

"We made you a Spectre and look at what you've accomplished," the turian started sharply. "You released the rachni queen present in Peak 15, without our permission. You destroyed Saren's cloning facility without our permission. You started working for Cerberus, an avowed enemy of the Council. Then you went around on a Cerberus-built _Normandy_ equipped with an artificial intelligence, and began recruiting criminals, assassins, and now this _geth_ for your team. And every time we hear of a destructive explosion occurring in a corner of the galaxy, investigations show that you were behind it…"

Shepard listened in stony silence to the impressive list of her crimes, wondering if they were going mention the infiltration of the Database Tower, arrest her and be done with it.

"…all of these you keep justifying in the name of opposing these Reapers-"

"This is too much!" Anderson objected at last.

"Councilor, weren't these charges similar to those which you persisted in telling us to strip Saren of his rank? 'Working for the geth'?"

"My presence must be most fortunate," Legion stated coldly. "It is obviously aiding you in forming accusations."

He shot the geth a disdainful look. "We're not accusing anyone. We're talking about facts."

And the facts against her were abundant. So were her enemies. It was then that Shepard realised she was indeed no more than a mere pawn in their game. Now a dead piece. Expendable.

"You're taking back my status," she said, emotions hidden. It wasn't a question.

"We are," the asari confirmed. "We're in a difficult position, Commander Shepard. Your activities are putting many of us under political pressures from different angles. We recommend that you take a temporary leave until the situation returns to normal. You will not be charged for any of your previous actions."

Shepard stood still, staring at the holographic image. Lost in her racings thoughts, she vaguely registered Anderson's heated objections, their denials, and then their insulting unconcerned hope for her to come to terms with their resolution, which soon afterwards gave its place to a dry announcement: "This hearing is over."

The bitter meaning of that single sentence cut worse than a knife, so did the irony of arranging and attending this meeting of her own will. She'd been a convict all along, this office a courtroom. Too bad the judges had also been her prosecutors.

When the hologram disappeared, she willed her eyes to Anderson. He wasn't feeling much better than her. She knew that this mess wasn't even what he had been hesitating to tell her about. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that was.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'll do my best to get you back to your previous position."

Shepard considered discussing a plan with him, perhaps even showing a bit of dismay and anger at life and this cursed situation, like she'd done before when they had put her in a similar circumstance. But she was not the woman she used to be, full of vigor and driven by motivation. Those qualities had died above Alchera a long time ago.

In the end, she only gave Anderson a weak nod before going for the door.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, with the same fatherly concern Shepard remembered well.

"I don't know," she replied distantly, and stepped out of the room.

The corridor was empty, its silence welcoming. She abandoned the idea of heading back to the Presidium and let her feet take her up the short set of stairs, then to the small hall before the offices, where she stopped near the wall, leaned against it, and closed her eyes.

Almost two years ago, she had struggled desperately to deprive someone else from their status. Now she was on the receiving end. The similarities were striking; so much so that she was beginning to doubt her choices.

A salarian lying dead in a remote hospital on Tuchanka. Evidence of someone's guilt hidden away as she'd left the Alarei. A notoriously reclusive race spared, without further investigation. And everything else in-between, destroyed or changed forever, all remembered at once. Her notion of what had been just.

Seconds, minutes; Shepard had no idea how long she stayed there alone, head bowed from the weight of her responsibilities, before sensing someone come. She slowly opened her eyes.

Legion stood in front of her, his expression unreadable. She didn't bother to cloak her somberness this time. He regarded her for some moments, then reached out and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. There was nothing reluctant about it and she gave into the touch, grateful for his company.

When she raised her head, he drew back his hand, returning her gaze.

"I deserved better than that," Shepard said at length, tired.

"You never had their support in reality," Legion replied, his voice altered with shades of sympathy.

"No. I didn't. But I expected them to keep up their pretense."

"Their false agreement alone would not have been helpful."

He was right, but it didn't make this any easier to grasp. "It would've made my job simpler as the damned saviour of this galaxy."

Legion contemplated her.

"Focus on your own survival." His voice was low and compelling in her ear.

She stared back, the meaning of his words resonant in her mind.

"Let's go," said Shepard, slowly regaining her faltered strength and determination, then straightened and walked back with him to the entrance, feeling the need to be somewhere else, away from this place. There was a job that had to be done, even if the rest of the world wanted to deny it.

On the Citadel, people were going about their business, inattentive, unaware, and deceived.

And the two of them seemed no more than casual visitors to others as they crossed the path back to the elevator.


	16. Revelation

**Revelation**

She kept the announcement short and simple, standing composed and purposeful behind the table in the debriefing room. The Council hadn't been supportive; she was no longer a Spectre, and that 'temporary leave' was nothing more than a lie. Shepard knew she was gone for good from their list of operatives.

Her team members were quiet. No witty remarks from Jack. No delirious comments from Grunt. The rest of them wore the same expression that Shepard recalled seeing on their faces before their attack on the Collectors. The euphoria of winning that battle had been short-lived, and all that remained now was the discomfort of anticipation and the burden of stopping the Reapers.

"As you all know, we're not going to sit by and watch, which brings us back to the main reason for having this meeting," Shepard continued.

"You want to gather an army, Commander?" asked Jacob.

He seemed unsure. Shepard wasn't going to show any uncertainty, however. "That's part of the plan."

"It isn't going to be easy without the Council's authority," Miranda said. "Krogans alongside turians and salarians. Quarians with the geth… By the time we manage to convince them to work together, the Reapers have conquered us all."

"Technically, everybody has a problem with the presence of an enormous geth fleet outside the Veil," Tali quipped.

Legion didn't counter the remark, but his gaze moved from the Cerberus operative to stay on Tali, and disfavour was evident in his stare.

"So do they with the rachni's. I'm not going to throw away my best winning card just to please people," Shepard replied. "Besides, we're going to avoid drawing attention. There are those who would use this against us if they could, to charge us with a capital offense."

She had to be cautious. Last time she'd revealed too much of her scheme to politicians, the _Normandy_ had been grounded, and Anderson had been forced to risk an act of treason to get her out of the trouble.

"EDI," The AI's holographic avatar appeared on the other end of the conference table at the sound of Shepard's voice. "I want this ship to be double-checked for spy programs and swept from all unnecessary monitoring devices." And then, keeping her formality: "For example, much to Joker's dismay, the area right outside the restrooms doesn't need a surveillance camera."

That prompted a few amused expressions around the room.

"Very well," EDI responded.

"And tell everyone to be careful with what they say in messages sent through unsecure channels."

"What's the other part of this plan?" Garrus asked.

The one which their lives depended on. There was no doubt that the species who'd come before them all had an army, perhaps even stronger, more advanced, with leaders willing to co-operate. It hadn't been enough. In the end, what remained of them was history, to only ever be known from afar via artifacts and words on pages almost forgotten.

Shepard laid her hands on the table, leaning forward slightly. "Finding something that can actually keep us alive for more than a few days when the war begins. We can't afford to get purged or indoctrinated in their initial attack. If their bombs don't kill us, their sleeper agents will."

"What about the Illusive Man?" Miranda questioned. "I guess the situation is dire enough for him to briefly set aside his ambitions."

"He's on my list, but one of the last options." And one of the persons whom she least trusted.

"I can contact the Admiralty Board and arrange for our arrival, if you want," Tali suggested.

"Not now. There's unfinished business I need to take care of," Shepard replied, looking ahead. "Crew's dismissed."

The team gradually left the room, but Legion stood where he was, calculatively regarding her, before turning and following the others through the door.

Shepard straightened and headed toward the elevator. "Joker, get us to the hub world of this system. We might not get another chance for shore leave soon." She stepped inside the lift. _We may never get one at all._

* * *

Length, estimated shield strength and weapon power, along with a great deal of information about other factors. The knowledge alone could cause fear in most. The spacecraft itself would do it even more.

A nation, independent, free of all weakness. Exact words of a Reaper, later heard from her synthetic ally. Sometimes Shepard wondered if the programmes within their enemies had been brainwashed as well to consider themselves the supreme form of perfection, devoid of sentiments—inefficient symptoms of the flesh, Legion had told her once.

Her eyes moved to the degraded N7 helmet lying on the table, now nothing but a memento of an anguishing memory. Perhaps he had been right.

Shepard placed the datapad on the desk, leaning back in her chair. The delicate expanse of her cabin should have been a preferable area of the ship to pass time between missions, with a serene view of the sky through the glass ceiling, harmonised with gentle music. But right now it felt confining, more than ever before. The artificial sight of the docking bay visible through the window didn't help much.

She got up, wandered to her locker, and grabbed a black jacket before going for the door. She didn't notice anyone on her way to the main gate. Who could blame them for being eager to get out of here?

The port's exterior architecture was meant to be gratifying, with its sleek flowing lines and soft colours in masterful compositions. Shepard gave them no more than a perfunctory glance as she put on her coat and began walking with no destination in mind. The evening sunlight was too weak to dispel the chill of the planet's autumn breeze, and icy air currents brushing over the vast open hall nipped at her face.

"Shepard?"

She stopped upon hearing the familiar digital voice, calling her a short while after she'd started her stroll. She turned to Legion. "Yes?"

He stood before her, considering her solemnly. "We need to talk." His voice carried the same manner.

A subtle frown creased her brow. "I'm listening."

He observed the scattered population around them. "Come," he said, before moving to a set of stairs leading down to another area.

It was uncrowded, away from the entertainment centre of the city. She followed him to a wide terrace which gave a clear view of the setting sun, and the red misty colour of the sky slowly dissolving into the night.

When she was about to question his motivation, he took out a small device, activated it, and placed it on the railing. It might have been geth technology, but she immediately recognised it as a communication disruptor.

She looked back at him. "What's with all the secrecy?"

He didn't reply straight away, and instead watched the scenery. His silence wasn't a sign of uncertainty or reluctance. Just contemplation.

"I discovered data in the research space station—the one which was eradicated in a neutron purge." He turned to Shepard. "I did not upload it to the _Normandy_."

Her face began to darken.

Legion continued, "It is a heavily encrypted program, containing an incredible amount of information. I ran analyses. The results verify that it is indeed of Old Machine origin." He added, "They also confirm its presence in all the systems was the cause of indoctrination."

"Do you have it now?" Shepard sounded steady, but a change in the set of her mouth, suggested otherwise.

"Yes."

She didn't bother to keep her cool composure a second longer. "You concealed such an important thing from me for _one week_?"

"It was a necessary precaution." His calm certitude embittered her even more.

"Is that how you justify yourself?"

"Yes," he admitted, unabashed.

She briefly looked away, exhaling in frustration. "Don't tell me you've uploaded it to a geth hub."

"I am capable of operating alone."

"What a relief. Now please, give it to me and remove your local copy."

"Reason?" he asked.

She reached out to activate his omni-tool. "Was that a question?"

He moved his hand to evade her attempt. "We are not currently aware of any methods for stopping the cycle of extinction."

The reminder made her pause. "Should I remind you of how disastrously the IFF installation ended?"

"A programme located on a remote memory card cannot affect any systems."

"EDI _is_ the ship. Last thing I want in this war is a crew of husks." She reached to switch on his omni-tool, and he avoided it again.

"Allow me to decode it," said Legion in earnest.

"With all due respect, I'm not going to let that happen."

On her third try he seized her wrist, stopping her, looking down into her eyes. Determined, she returned his stare, her breathing uneven. The brief irrational impulse to smack him with her free hand, right in the face, just to wipe off his confidence, was very tempting.

"What is your main problem with this alternative solution?" he asked quietly.

What was it? The programme itself and its origin. The impressive number of those who'd ended up dead after coming into contact with it. The fact that he was a geth. The sudden stab of apprehension that even though she used to believe she'd _deactivate_ him with bullets if things got out of control, she could no longer bring herself to do it. And that scared her the most.

When Shepard spoke again, there was little anger in her voice, replaced by a feeling she wasn't even sure how to qualify.

"You want to play with fire, Legion."

"I am experienced in interacting with this form of technology," he responded.

Of course she remembered that. The events which had occurred on the derelict Reaper and the Heretic station were not something that one could easily forget. Legion had a remarkable history of dicing with death, every so often escaping it from embracing him altogether. But his luck wouldn't hold forever. Shepard had learned that the hard way.

For a moment she thought of countering him, to object again. The words came to the tip of her tongue. 'I don't risk people'. But she stopped. The irony of endangering a lot more by rejecting the data didn't escape her notice. But it was just that, an irony. She had come to the conclusion this morning that the principle of protecting every single individual living in this universe was not worth pursuing. In the end, she'd chosen to follow the most basic imperative of them all: survival.

"How much time do you need?" Shepard asked with a more composed demeanour.

Legion considered her, motionless and unfathomable, then released his grip on her wrist. It was a few seconds before he stepped back and replied.

"I have significant knowledge of the Old Machine's coding patterns, however, this programme is complex." He stared meditatively out at the scenery. The sun had almost finished setting, and only the edge of it was visible over the horizon. "Decrypting it will take several weeks."

"Are you going to closet yourself even more than before? I'm not sure if I can come up with an explanation for that."

"That will not be required." He shifted his gaze back to her. "I am already deciphering it."

She looked at him standing with aloof dignity. "Why did you reveal it? You could have just pretended like nothing had happened."

"I do not lie. I merely keep the truths hidden until the time is appropriate," Legion replied.

"I don't know whether I should feel grateful or manipulated," she said wryly.

He was unmoved by her sarcasm. "Emotions are fleeting. It is the results that remain."

The ghost of a dry smile she had on her lips completely disappeared. The meaning of his words was enough to stun her into silence—facts that she didn't appreciate hearing, but were uncomfortably accurate.

Legion didn't press the subject, nor did he continue to mention anything about clarity of purpose or perception. Instead, he picked up the device lying on the railing, and switched it off.

"I will be in the AI Core," were his parting words.

Shepard stayed on the terrace and watched the view, hands in her pockets. The last of daylight had died away by now. In the muffled blend of the sounds of city life, she managed to distinguish the laughter of a child, blissful and innocent. It stopped soon afterwards, but lasted long enough to remind her that even such a chaotic world was still worth saving.

She remained in the area for a few more seconds, then turned around and walked back to the _Normandy_.

* * *

It seemed like the shore leave had been uneventful for the others, as Shepard hadn't heard anything remarkable from the group during the time it'd taken her to grab her meal and head to the quiet refuge of port observation.

The machinery to her left, she'd switched off after entering the room, before sitting on a bar stool and placing her food on the counter. It remained there, untouched, as she listened to the _sotto voce_ hum of the engines, staring at the plastic dish and slowly rotating the fork between her fingers, thoughts elsewhere.

A low hiss came from the door. She didn't have to raise her head to know who had come inside.

"You rarely visit this observatory," mentioned Legion. His tone was devoid of the absolute sobriety that had existed throughout their conversation hours ago.

"Mess-room was crowded," Shepard replied.

He leisurely walked to the bar; his gaze wandered over the shelves in front of him, then on the elegant surface of the counter, before stopping on her. "May I interrupt your privacy?"

She snorted softly. "There's hardly any on this ship."

It was impossible not to notice the unseen, ever-watchful resident AI's constant intrusion into her life.

"Go on." Shepard put the fork back on her plate. "Although you made quite an impression earlier today," she said, eyeing him sullenly from under her lashes. "A very memorable one."

He took a seat on the stool beside her, disregarding her remark, even though it was clear that their earlier encounter was his reason for being here. Unit cohesion, he used to call it, in a time when it seemed redundant to him to speak in a rhetorical manner. Now it was simply 'a business relationship'.

"You would consider it more difficult to achieve if you were a geth," Legion said, looking ahead.

Shepard turned to him.

"Privacy," he calmly added in response to her unspoken inquiry.

The condition was almost nonexistent among his people, where different platforms had to share their thoughts to gain power. There was only one exception.

"Do you ever become troubled by the lack of it within yourself?" asked Shepard, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Do the cells of your brain experience the need to hold secrets from one another?" He faced her. "It is when you enter a society that the problem begins to manifest."

"Is that why you chose a life of seclusion?"

"I can operate independently. There is no reason to share every single consensus with others." He reminded, "I do not always have access to the FTL channels."

It had been her order. Anyone else would have grown impatient from the lack of authorization by now, but not Legion. In him, she sensed someone placid, who would take their time to sway the circumstances toward a desired direction. She made a mental note to never forget that.

"You can have it because of the matters we talked about in the debriefing. And I trust you to _impose_ your consensus on the rest of your species," Shepard said, knowing that he had his ways to make people accede to his opinions.

Legion considered her proposal before inclining his head slightly as an indication of agreement. "I will inform you of the result."

There was a long pause before Shepard spoke again.

"I told Joker to go back to that Prothean ruin."

She wasn't hoping for a reassurance, and it came as no surprise when she didn't get one.

"It will be dangerous." His voice was resonant in the hush.

A faint broken smile tugged at her mouth. "Sometimes I miss safety. Even though it was just a lie."

"Such fallacious concepts cannot captivate you for too long," he commented.

"Everyone seems to believe I'm special," she replied with subtle humour.

Legion beheld her for a few heartbeats. "You are, Commander Shepard," he said, and there was no humour in his words.

She held his gaze, the implication of his words fresh in her mind, a notion that was not shrouded in doubt or self-consciousness at all.

The moment passed when he stood up from his seat. "I will be in the armoury, working on the new heavy weapon per your request." He looked down at her. "You ought to rest."

His sentence made Shepard more aware of her fatigue, the exhaustion of a tiring day gone by without sleep. She gave him a nod in response, before he turned and headed for the door.

The room fell back into its previous quiet state, with a woman sitting alone, and unaware of the perils lurking in the future.


	17. Dystopian Nightmares

**Dystopian Nightmares**

The uncrowded CIC area was in sharp contrast to the busy mess hall she'd seen a while ago. There wasn't an optimistic yeoman standing near the terminal, and her absence was more palpable than that of those few operatives who had retreated to their quarters at the end of a working day.

Shepard's hushed appreciation for the quiet went unnoticed in the room. With the echo of a restless dream lingering in her mind, she stared at the soft projection of the galaxy—their home, soothing in appearance, full of mysteries and perils hidden behind a captivating form. Its untold tales of living nightmares were countless, and the ones she'd heard or experienced thus far could never be forgotten.

As the haze of her rueful thoughts faded away, she turned from the holographic image and walked to the armoury. Its metal barrier slid back and she paused in the doorway to regard the person who had talked to her in port observation not long ago. There was no sign of Jacob, and somehow, that unremarkable fact pleased her a shade.

"Less than four hours," Legion started by reminding her of the short duration of her slumber, keeping his gaze downwards on a printed circuit board.

"Couldn't sleep," Shepard said, going to the other side of the room where he was standing behind one of the tables. "Thanks for not telling me to visit Doctor Chakwas," she added.

"You are not very interested in following medical procedure." He almost sounded like he was excusing her avoiding an appointment, than expressing condemnation of it.

"Her concerns over my welfare is interfering with me doing my job."

A few datapads, wires, and engineering tools had been placed on the workspace in a methodical order, along with a sniper which could have been considered identical to the original Widow if it hadn't been for its darker colouration.

Shepard looked back at the geth. The idea of asking him about the weapon's change of hue was forgotten when she thought of a new question. "What about you? Do you ever get tired?"

"Fatigue is foreign to me." He put down the electrical panel and faced her. "However, specific actions might force me to temporarily lower the amount of unnecessary processes."

"So it's like some kind of subconscious reflex."

The slight inclination of his head told her that the surmise had been correct to a degree. "It is also possible to do consciously, to intensify the capability of certain sensors."

"It must be a very useful ability in the battlefield," she said, thinking of the numerous combats that had cost her a scar or two, simply because she hadn't been able to pinpoint the location of a threat in time.

"It is."

Silence followed as Shepard took his words into consideration. In the midst of their unsafe everyday lives, it was sometimes easy to overlook the fact that he was a being who never had to worry about respiration, thirst, hunger, pain… The list went on to the point where she lost count of his aspects. The reality that after all these days, the true extent of his physical powers or mental abilities was still a mystery to her, slowly presented itself.

As Shepard shifted her focus to the datapads on the table, a partially visible image of a humanoid creature caught her attention, and she reached over to pick up the file lying underneath the other documents.

"That is a copy of Doctor Solus' written account concerning the entity we encountered," Legion explained, seeing her inquisitive expression.

The data contained rows of scientific descriptions, along with a detailed three-dimensional picture of the monster, its skin pale as ash and mouth agape. Slender and agile proportions, alert eyes, and talons capable of ripping flesh, all spoke of a predatory nature. The remaining traces of its unchanged body structure were enough to reveal it was the walking corpse of a long perished human.

This creature was a reminder to Shepard of why she couldn't step out of this fight. Nobility, heroism, the satisfaction of standing arrogantly against a dominant race? No. They might have started her ideal of a galactic rebellion, but after two years of running and struggling, that notion had burned down from within. The only thing that kept her going was the quiet promise of an escape from the alternatives; of death, enslavement, or a bleak everlasting life. She had a difficult time deciding which was worse. The ominous offer of a forced immortality still rang resonantly in her mind. A reward for her 'insolence' that was supposed to give her comfort. She felt none.

When Shepard put the datapad back down and looked to her left, Legion was busy collecting the equipment from the table. She didn't have to check her watch to know they were close to their destination. The idea of returning to the location of a recent failure didn't brighten her mood in the slightest. Last time she'd set foot on a planet bearing the scars of a past experience, there had been nothing left to gain aside from a handful of dog tags, and a broken helm. The bitter recollection that surfaced every time she looked at it made her wonder if it'd been better off resting forever alongside the _Normandy_'s grave.

It didn't matter. The scant information they had on their enemies was more than enough to convince her that she couldn't be too careful of when and how they visited a place.

"You might want to bring extra ammunition today." There was a pause before Shepard spoke again. "Just in case things get out of hand down there."

Just in case.

The fake reassurance of that phrase remained undisturbed. The geth nodded in response, and reached to pick up the datapad Shepard had been observing minutes ago. She laid a hand on it and said, "I'll keep this one, if you don't mind."

She doubted he would miss the absence of such a document. After all, he could remember every face, every age, every memory. In perfect clarity.

His positive answer was the last thing they exchanged before he gathered his possessions and left the armoury.

Shepard stayed in the room. The ship's drive core was visible through the nearby window. Her eyes moved to look upon it, and the cool enveloping haze reaching down to touch the ground below. Like the lazy mist of a cascade falling over a river on a cold autumn afternoon…

She closed her eyes briefly in the reminiscence of an old event, then headed to her weapons locker with the intention of clearing her head. The thoughts had been transient, but they'd left their mark nonetheless.

What she found in the storage cabinet made her stop in mild surprise. The silver metal case sitting neatly beside the other firearms hadn't been there when she'd cleaned her guns that morning. The unpleasantness of their situation was somewhat forgotten as she grabbed the box and put it on the table for further investigation. It wasn't very heavy. And it wasn't locked, either. The lid came off with ease to reveal a light grey three-barreled shotgun secured elegantly inside the crate.

Its design wasn't like any other short range weapon she'd seen before. Panels, curves, and indents integrated into a masterful composition that beckoned her to trace a finger over its polished surface. Next to it lay a card, a line of writing on it.

_"Consider it the fulfillment of your hypothetical request."_

Her lips curled into a gentle, knowing smile.

* * *

Their next conversation took place in the cargo hold during a short walk to the shuttle, and consisted of her thanks and his clipped explanation of the gun's upgraded carnage attack. That was it. A discreet transitory behaviour, because neither of them were interested in extending it any further in front of Samara and Thane. It was situations like this that reminded Shepard why this new _Normandy_ felt very much like a prison.

Most of the journey to the ruins was spent reviewing the tactical plan, based on a questionable schematic and a handful of assumptions. The objectives were simple: get in, search for data, leave the place, and arm the explosives on the way out if the facility was beyond redemption. It felt like going back to the Collector base, only that establishment hadn't been crumbling. And the communication link to the _Normandy_ hadn't been jammed, either.

Outside the Kodiak was the same glamorous scenery, a façade concealing the second entrance to the hidden research facility. The ingress was similar to the one discovered a few days ago, with a long passage leading down into the mountain neighbouring a large body of water. It was after the group passed through the first circular airlock that the design began to show contrast to the their memory of the scene. There was no massive hall with primeval decorations. It was a simple, tenebrous room, which only served as a connection between the exterior tunnel and the inner parts of the building. To the left were the impaired doors of an elevator, and ahead, a metal gate. There were no keypads. It was a one-way exit.

Bypassing the main barrier from this side was not an option. With that realisation, Shepard moved to the lift. Several seconds of hacking and a moderate electric pulse generated from her omni-tool were enough to fake the mechanism's opening code. The panels separated a little, sufficient to slide a hand in between and force them further apart. As they were pushed aside, a wide vertical shaft came to view, and the enveloping obscurity inside it made the darkness of the room look dull.

The place became more visible as Shepard lit a flare and dropped it into the passage. The light went down… and down… and as she was beginning to think this was just a vacant abyss, the beacon stopped at the top of what seemed to be an elevator.

"The lift doesn't appear to have an upper hatch," said Thane, observing the area below.

"I'll see if I can open that side door above it. Otherwise, we'll have to circle the base and get inside from the waterfall entrance," Shepard replied, knowing full well that the second method required walking for at least an hour through a course which was full of unknown dangers. Not that their current location was any safer. Some nameless feeling told her that it wasn't safe here at all.

She attached the magnetic grapple to the metal frame and pulled the hook to make sure it was secure before connecting its wire to her belt.

"Hold it, just in case," Shepard said, giving the cable to Legion and lowering herself into the shaft.

The ancient odour was more palpable within the passage, like the inside of a tomb, sealed away beneath earth. As she slowly moved closer to the bottom, the enclosed area became more apparent. What seemed to be a normal construction at first sight started to feel strange, its very space confining. And she had never been claustrophobic before.

She pushed the thought aside and continued downwards at a faster pace. Standing atop the elevator, she disconnected the wire from herself and began bypassing the door's system. It slid back slowly, and when it was open enough to allow entry for one person, ground to a halt. The protesting groan of its hinges echoed down in the newly revealed hallway, a path barely illuminated by the flare.

With caution, Shepard stepped inside and searched the nearby wall for a control panel to send up the transportation device. It was then that she sensed something, a distinct shadow that crept closer past her peripheral vision. On instinct, she turned to check it, and as she did, the light died.

Quickly taking out her torch, she switched it on and trained its beam along the corridor, her other hand drawing the pistol. The area was coated in a layer of dust, the walls stained with age and substances which were better left unidentified. The far end of the long path couldn't be seen, but what was visible seemed to be empty.

She stood still, body tensed for any sign of movement. All she heard was the sound of her breath, and the faint whispers of a chilling breeze that passed through the hallway to brush over her face, like the touch of a ghost.

"Shepard?"

It was several seconds before the Commander radioed back to Samara, stating something that she herself didn't quite believe: "It's clear."

Her gaze remained fixed ahead, alert, unsure. Looking away battled against every instinct she possessed, so did lowering her pistol, even though it was just to switch the weapon with her shotgun and mount the tactical light to it.

Waiting for the others to join felt protracted, and she began to wonder if that was because of an unconscious desperation to have an ally in these hollow chambers. As the group reassembled and ventured deeper into the facility, the sensation became more evident, something that made the hair on the back of her neck prickle. The uncomfortable thought that they were underneath tonnes of stone with no communication to the outside world, did nothing but worsen the feeling.

The path ended at a junction formed by the union of three corridors. The one to their right presumably led to the closed gate they had seen earlier, the way ahead went to a heavy door that slid back to reveal a dark hall.

The dreadful silence was interrupted by a low beep that came from Shepard's omni-tool scanner, then from Samara's, then Thane's.

_''Toxic Alert: Hazardous gases detected in the atmosphere''_

The alarm reminded them of a factor that had been almost forgotten, the result of a deliberate failure they caused to escape a dangerous threat during their last visit.

"The ventilation system has malfunctioned," Legion stated.

The subtle flow of oxygen filled the limiting space of Shepard's helmet as she put it on. The dull blue light which briefly appeared on its visor indicated that the respirator was operational. Such a false comfort to many, but not to her. Death was no further than a pressure seal failure, a mere crack in the glass of her mask.

With one last look at the display of her hardsuit computer, she started walking forward with careful steps, ahead of the team. The beams of their flashlights moved about the vast hall as they tried to make sense of their surroundings, now nothing but the skeleton of what had once been the residence of a bygone race, exterminated in the shadow of a malevolent hubris.

Their initial impression of wandering into an empty chamber was driven away as rows of damaged elliptical cylinders slowly became visible in the obscure environment, several feet apart from one another, attached to the side walls and high above on the ceiling. A similar sight on Ilos had aroused pity in its observers almost two years ago. Back then, the Archives were a graveyard, the deaths of its sleeping inhabitants a means of paving a ruthless way to self-preservation. But that sympathy hadn't lasted long. Their deaths had been far more merciful than that of those who emerged as Collectors.

Much further along, the group was still in the same dim environment, and when Shepard was beginning to wonder if this chamber was all that existed in this section of the facility, their torch beams revealed the outline of a half-open gateway.

She approached it, with her intuition expecting a proximity alert that was never going to come. The wide spiral staircase leading all the way to the bottom of what seemed to be a tower was the only thing she found on the other side.

With caution, she started down the flight of steps. The absence of a lift or an escalator was strikingly odd, as were the perceptible changes in the architecture. Looking around in search of anything resembling the hexagonal panels or the sleek viridian surfaces they'd seen almost everywhere in the other parts of this facility, Shepard saw nothing. The dull engraved symbols covering the walls were barely discernible, some buried beneath the dust altogether. She tried to understand their meaning with the help of the Cipher, but not even one was familiar.

Her train of thought was interrupted when a sudden crumbling sound came from the right side as the group reached the base of the tower. The four of them immediately pointed their guns in that direction, to find nothing but a collapsed part of the ceiling. Any relief was soon demolished when their flashlights illuminated the area behind the pile of rocks.

Empty stasis pods. Twenty, thirty, probably more; and that didn't count the others obscured by the shadows. The reason for their existence was obvious, a knowledge that brought forth bitter recognition of isolated colonies, decayed corpses, and melted bodies. The last time people had strived to save the lives of those imprisoned in these cases, the result could hardly be called an achievement. And Shepard knew the fate of the ones brought here had not been very different. Why expect anything else to rise from these caskets but the dead?

Checking every corner of the area beneath the stairs for any sign of the accursed inhabitants proved to be futile. They had long awakened from their temporary slumber. The drastic change in the air had been more than enough to put an end to any form of artificial hibernation.

The silence was broken by Thane. "If adding resistance against future visitors were the Collector's intention, why didn't they bring victims that were already converted?"

Shepard willed her eyes to the entrance on their left, the foul atmosphere coming from it too powerful to remain unnoticed. "I don't think resistance was exactly what they had in mind."

When she moved into its uneasy radius the cause became apparent, standing imposing and tall, emitting an arsenic light at the far end of the dark hall. She didn't need to get close to examine the design. Even from here, its hollow whispers beckoning her to come forward left little room to doubt what it really was.

Clamping down on the disquieting sentiment, the Commander turned to look at the squad for a moment and decided to ask if they were feeling alright. The question never made it past the tip of her tongue. The reluctant postures of Samara and Thane were answer enough. Legion was looking ahead at the malicious device, contemplative and solemn, and Shepard wasn't sure if he too could sense its influence, or whether his expression was a reassuring sign that he did not.

With her attention focused back on the way in front, Shepard lit a flare and cautiously threw it inside the massive room. It hit the floor and rolled forward, before stopping at the bottom of one of the many large metal crates in the hall.

Seconds passed. She kept her shotgun pointed at the entrance and waited for a husk to lunge after the disturbance, but nothing came out. No moans. No sound of unsteady footsteps.

She began edging into the next area, with her companions following close behind. The chamber was uncomfortably full of places to hide, and had little room to manoeuvre in a fight. Or to turn back and run. Every few metres was either a container or a console, all unsurprisingly inoperational. Their designs were familiar, like the ones she'd seen on Ilos and a level above in this building. Glancing at the ominous object ahead, she had to wonder whether the Protheans could be that careless to establish a research facility with such a thing at its heart. A secret research facility that housed countless cryogenic pods.

She looked back at the entrance a hundred metres behind, slowly becoming wrapped in the darkness as the light of the flare faded. The idea of aborting the investigation, setting the explosives and just getting out crossed her mind. It remained unspoken when she saw a testing apparatus and the console nearby, still functional, its surface covered with ash instead of dust. The cerulean holographic interface of the computer came to life as the group approached it, the few words appearing on its display convincing Shepard not to linger in this facility for long.

_"Commencing indoctrination analysis. Stand by…"_

She moved her eyes from the screen to scan their surroundings. "Let's hope it doesn't make a big deal of you being an artificial intelligence," she said to Legion without stopping her wary observation of the area.

There were three large containers on the right, another two on the left. The gap between them barely left passage for one person, and that made the other open path nearby more acceptable to cross. She followed it with her eyes, noticing how uncomfortably close to the Reaper technology on the other side the way led. It seemed like the furniture had been moved recently to turn the place into a labyrinth, intended to lure trespassers to the thing from which they most wanted to stay away.

The brief high-pitched sound of the console made her check the display again. The sentence which was written on it moments ago disappeared to be replaced by a chart of scientific experiments, and then by a news article about a well-coordinated attack on the Prothean empire. Attached to it were several photos, one of them taken from the surface of a planet, its sky darkened by countless dreadnaughts, burning the buildings of a city to the ground…

For the first time since the start of this mission, Shepard was grateful that she was wearing a helmet concealing her expression. It had been far easier to speak with arrogance and determination in response to the threat of an empty future, to a being whom she had called only a machine and mockingly said could be broken. She'd thought it had been just a bluff, something to deceive her into stopping her struggles. Staring at the unwavering screen, she knew that assumption had been wrong.

"Does it mention anything about the missing artifact's function?"

She heard Samara's question and directed her gaze to the asari, her thoughts distant. It was a few seconds before she composed herself and skimmed the paragraphs. "No," she answered. "Just that they had to relocate it when this research base was compromised."

"Enlarge the image on the next page," said Legion, shifting Shepard's attention from the text to the small preview at the bottom. Selecting the thumbnail opened a satellite photo of a planet.

"Parnassus. Phi Clio system," he stated.

"The one on which history records don't exist on the Citadel database?" she asked, eyes narrowing in consideration.

He nodded. "There was also a datapad containing a photograph of the sixth planet of the Relic system on the biological section of this facility."

"The Preying Mouth…" Thane thought aloud. "That doesn't have a clear history record, either."

The conversation was interrupted when the console abruptly shut down. Shepard pressed the button on its keypad, once, twice, but the device refused to restart. There was no electric current in at all. It was as if the system's power had been cut off.

Cursing under her breath, she stepped aside of the panel. "Bring it back online," she said to Legion, a little more commanding than initially intended.

With that, the Commander moved further away from the computer. The unsettling sensation tugging at her nerves was getting more difficult to be ignore, and she wondered if it had to do with the usual frustration that came with any untimely failure, or something else.

The medium-sized container placed several metres away was not her idea of an appropriate location to set the demolition charges, but she approached it anyway, took out the explosives, and started attaching them to its surface. The remote controller wasn't operable, and she didn't have to question where the jamming signals were coming from. She hadn't started setting the timer yet when someone called her name, with a voice so quiet, chilling her to the bone.

She dared to look in its direction, and they moved up to settle on the Reaper megalith on the opposite side of the room. Its unreal and wordless phrases recited her every secret and suffering. Death, despair, the endless number of insurmountable odds standing in the way of her victory; Shepard waited for them to be repeated to her over and over again, but nothing ever came. All she registered was an incoherent eons-old haunted memory, gently reaching out… and then clawing at her brain-

She tore her gaze away from the device, breathing uneven, the unrelenting pain still reverberating through her every vein. A glance back at her three companions standing metres away and focused on a discussion, made it clear that they hadn't noticed any changes. She looked back at the demolition charges, a hand unconsciously moving up to brush the cold sweat running down the length of her face. Fingertips touched the hard metal of her helmet, and she remembered that it wasn't possible.

It didn't take her long to perceive the miasmic emanation coming from the left, believing it to be another attempt to create a hallucination. That was until it crept closer, and its disproportional body became visible on the edge of her vision.

Her thumb slowly moved to activate the carnage mode of the shotgun resting next to her left thigh. The fact that the creature hadn't attacked her by now, erased the possibility of it being just a normal husk. And when there was one, there were bound to be many. Too many.

It didn't give her another second to warn the others before it lunged. She immediately raised the weapon, aimed for its open mouth, and pulled the trigger. The power of the shot was more than enough to make its skull explode from inside out.

Not a moment later, another creature charged from the right, only to be slowed with biotic energy, have its armoured skin eroded with reave, and be decapitated with the force of a Widow headshot. Its limp body fell to the ground, and when Shepard looked behind of where it had been standing for a sign of further hostiles, her eyes registered the rapidly approaching series of biotic impacts coming from the other side of the room. On instinct, she took a quick step back and spawned a barrier over her shield, barely dodging the powerful shockwave that came less than a second later, violently knocking down all the crates nearby.

Without hesitation she rushed back to the group, taking notice of the shadows moving in the darkness around. She only had time to activate the squad incendiary ammo before the first wave of husks arrived from the front.

The first one fell after receiving a concentrated shotgun blast to its neck. The second was slowed long enough by a hail of rifle bullets to be gripped biotically by Thane and hurled backwards into a set of containers. Another husk jumped forward, bringing back its hand to lash out, before being stopped by Samara in mid-air and slammed into a metal receptacle. The next creature managed to get close from behind to make an attempt at a vicious strike, which the geth ducked underneath and brought up the rear of the Widow forcefully to its temple as he straightened up. The mindless drone staggered away, the kick landing in its chest greatly increased the gap between them, and the sniper shot that followed soon afterwards was enough to finish the job.

Another shockwave was unleashed, this time its pulses came from the large gap between the two boxes to the left, clearing the obstacles in its path and eliminating several advancing husks. Pointing the tactical beam at where the attack had originated, Shepard spotted the scion slowly making its way to their position. Raising her hand, she hit it as hard as possible with a mass-lowering field.

"Thane!" she shouted, and the drell turned round and fired a heavy warp in response to her unspoken order. It exploded on impact, ripping apart half of the hunched sack of the monster.

She was about to charge to its location and take it down while it was still vulnerable, when an alert from the omni-tool made her halt in stunned disbelief.

_"Override accepted. Initiating detonation in: 2 minutes."_

Her pupils widened in alarm and she looked at the bomb still attached to the container to the right, near enough to make out the decreasing numbers of its countdown.

_1:54… 1:53… 1:52…_

She allowed her instincts to take over, knowing that hacking it again was futile in the middle of this fight. Not in that short amount of time.

"Forget the husks! Just run!" And with that she spun round and began sprinting to the way out, ahead of the squad.

Soulless moans continued in the area as the undead gave chase—noises that she heard over the pounding sound of her heartbeats, the struggles of her tired lungs as they tried to breathe. Her vague memory of the location of the entrance obscured in the darkness, taunted her with the possibility of getting lost in this maze.

A monster suddenly appearing after a sharp turn was the last thing they needed to deal with in this situation, and without pausing for a moment, Shepard thrust it backward as hard as her bio-amp allowed. The outline of the door became visible in the wavering light of their torches, and the team dashed to pass through it, not even glancing at the creature that had fallen to the ground. The long staircase leading all the way to the top loomed heavily on the other side.

Desperate to gain some distance, they raced it up, taking the steps three at a time. Halfway up, their frail illusion of security was broken. The first wave of powerful arc explosions were more than enough to completely ignite the lowest level. The burnt material in the laboratory only served to fuel them, and a second blast violently spread the flames outwards. Unable to contain it any further, the walls at the bottom of the tower were blown apart, releasing an inferno that began to swell up, purging everything nearby.

Focused on survival, they increased their pace, the stairs beneath their feet slowly crumbling. Their hurried arrival at the hibernation chamber was welcomed by a sight worse than the blaze that followed them to the top; a scene shaped by falling masonry and collapsing cryogenic pods.

Hesitating any longer meant being either burned or buried alive, and that notion alone urged them to abandon caution and break into a sprint to the doorway on the other side. The hall kept shaking as choking showers of dust and huge chunks of stone fell to the ground. A stasis cylinder crashed down less a few metres to their right, another one smashed close behind. The loud rumbling coming from overhead made Shepard look up. In the shimmering superheated air, she saw a part of the ceiling give away, and it was only the instant mass effect field created by Samara that temporarily froze the heavy debris and saved them from being slammed with it to the floor.

Dodging yet another falling stasis pod, the group managed to reach the gate. It slid back to reveal a familiar junction. There was no time to climb the elevator shaft back up. With that understanding, Shepard started to run down the corridor on the left, hoping that it'd lead back to the tunnel they had used to enter the facility earlier.

It did. Same circular corridor. Same thick double-door blocking the path ahead.

Swearing to herself, Shepard quickly moved away from the obstacle. "Open it!" she said to the geth, even though he was already making his way to the rusty control panel.

The building started shaking again. Large cracks began to leave marks on the floor, ceiling, and the walls around—an ominous indication of what was going to happen to the group if they hadn't evacuated the base in time.

"Legion?" she asked, her eyes scanning the area, desperation and anxiety evident in her voice.

"In progress," he replied, rapidly typing on the keypad, eye never leaving its glimmering holographic interface.

The deafening roar of a massive explosion echoed in the hallways. She turned round, seeing the flames spreading out and approaching from the end of the corridor.

"Legion!"

The gate's panels went into motion. They didn't wait for the door to fully open, and began dashing down the long passage. The bright opening at the other side looked too far, making Shepard wish she could at least charge part of the way, but she had no more energy left in her. Samara and Thane weren't faring any better, and when Shepard glanced back at the blaze, she wondered if they'd fled from it only to be purged seconds later.

She clamped down on the thought and continued to push herself to her limits, throat dry from the continuous rapid breathing and body begging her to slow down. As the air behind them became increasingly hot, the forest surrounding the large body of water came into view. They didn't pause to consider their next course of action, and just took the nearest escape route that guaranteed their survival from the inferno. Their jump over the cliff and to the deep lake below was the only thing that saved them from the flames. Behind them, the last standing tunnel of the facility came crashing down.

The fall lasted long enough for Shepard to remember the planet's medium gravity. The impact was hardly bearable. Its force completely wiped away her shield and almost knocked the air out of her lungs. Then came the inevitable sinking to the bottom of the water, which she hardly managed to stop by pushing biotically downwards. The painful weight of the armour reminded her why she had chosen to wear a lighter version in her previous fights.

The idea of dumping some of her weapons was beginning to form in her thoughts when the surface came into view, lined with shrubbery and tall trees that cast soft shadows on the ground. Shepard didn't pay attention to them and just crawled out of the water on her hands and knees, body sagging. She shot a glance at the other members of the team, making sure they were alright. Samara was resting next to a fallen trunk, Thane reclining close by. Legion was standing, pensively watching the lake. The last time she'd seen that expression on him, it was before he'd revealed the secrets of the haunted research station to her. Whatever he had on his mind was important, but right now, it could wait.

Exhausted, Shepard dragged herself to the nearest tree and leaned on it before removing her helmet, taking a deep breath of fresh air, and closing her eyes. There it was, the sensation of relief, being alive, victory. Those weak illusions were ephemeral, because everything they'd hoped to gain was lost. She tried to take comfort in the information they'd found on the computer before it had shut down. That comfort didn't last long…

"I discovered a sophisticated malware recently installed in the systems, seconds prior to the ambush by the hostiles," Legion told her. "It sent a copy of all the data stored on the console you activated, to a coordinate that does not exist in the Milky Way galaxy."

Shepard slowly opened her eyes and stared ahead at the reflection of the overcast sky, the meaning of his words coldly clear and resonant in her mind. Their implication remained buried under one vivid thought, of how used she felt. She'd known it every step of her journey, but the truth still stung deeply like the first time.

A cold breeze passed over the sweat-soaked locks of her hair. Shepard remained inattentive to them as she got back to her feet, looking up at the smoking remnants of the facility on the mountaintop, gaze resolute and intent. She switched on the community channel and made one order before setting the link back offline, without waiting for Joker's witty reply. "Send the shuttle to pick us up."

If what had happened today was partly her ultimate adversary's attempt at a sardonic reception, then this game wasn't over. She had never been a good loser.

Bending down, Shepard picked up the helmet lying on the ground, and then started walking in front of the squad to the Kodiak's extraction site.


	18. Modus Operandi

**Modus Operandi**

She had woken up in a cold sweat. The nightmares were back, dark, bloody, and incoherent; the soundless screams and hollow words were the only things she vaguely remembered in the background of the wandering vision—a message she couldn't fathom. Even now she could close her lids and see the disjointed images passing before her eyes again.

"Pulled hamstring, inflammation of the iliotibial band, minor ankle sprain…"

Shepard moved her gaze from the tiled floor of the medical bay to Doctor Chakwas, standing beside her, reading the diagnosis report.

"… sudden drop in blood glucose levels due to overuse of biotic abilities, contusions on legs, and stress fractures all over the body." She looked up from the datapad to the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. "What were you doing, Shepard?"

"Fleeing for my life as usual," came the reply as she injected a medi-gel.

"As a suggestion, next time, attend to your wounds before retreating to your quarters."

Shepard regarded the vanishing marks of her injuries, then dropped the empty vial of medicine into the nearby bin. "I thought you'd become used to my attitude by now."

She heard the Doctor's disappointed sigh. "Of all the people on this ship, you are the one that gives me the most headaches."

"Never imagined I would beat Joker," the Commander said casually before standing up and grabbing a towel from the table to clean her hands. This was a conversation she had after almost every assignment. By now, it had become something of a weekly routine.

Chakwas placed the file next to the other organised documents on the desk. There were shades of sympathy in her face. "The galaxy thinks of you as a hero, and you wholly deserve that recognition. But don't forget behind that title is still a human."

That made Shepard halt, eyes remaining on the cloth in her hand, thoughts distant. "A human can't win this war." Her voice was impassive.

She put the towel back on the bedside table and headed for the exit, pausing in the doorway when Chakwas spoke. "That's why you have a team. Don't carry this burden just by yourself."

The mess-room was quiet, but Shepard didn't linger in its confines and went for the elevator. The initial decision to visit the servers room and ask the geth if he had finished compiling the data gathered in the ruins was gradually abandoned. There had been enough dismaying news already for today. She didn't need to add a synoptic exchange of the mess they kept calling a mission to the list. He would find her and deliver the results anyway.

The lift began its trip to the engineering deck, during which Shepard looked ahead, considering her next course of action. There hadn't yet been another reply from Liara, in response to the request for a list of surviving entities connected to the mercenary group they had met during their assignment in the Nemean Abyss. 'Mercenary' was an understatement. Shepard knew no one could get so close to an object of Reaper interest and remain that clueless.

Her own pensive reflection stared back from the immaculate metal panels.

The door opened, revealing the hangar bay through the large window in front of her and the empty corridor of the fourth deck—a sight common aboard the _Normandy_ in late off-duty hours. The relative undisturbed peace of the ship was the only good aspect she'd found in staying awake.

When Shepard passed the second airlock and entered the engine room, the quarian member of the team was working on the console nearest to the drive core, eyes focused on its display and back turned to the doorway. Time had changed many things in her life, many people, many memories, but her fascination with starships and their systems had remained unaltered. Just the way it had been when she'd left behind her pilgrimage and requested to become part of the crew, based on only faith.

"Even Garrus doesn't spend this much time on the forward batteries. And you know how much he likes his calibrations."

The unexpected interruption startled Tali, the subtle involuntary movement of her body giving her away.

"Oh. Hello," she said, regaining her usual composure.

"Feel like having a chat?" asked the Commander, coming closer and leaning on the guardrail.

"Sure." The quarian saved her progress on the computer before shifting her attention back to Shepard. "I'm surprised you're down here. You don't visit this deck regularly anymore."

"I've been busy." That was half of the truth, but it was a good enough reason. Shepard glanced in the direction of the unoccupied consoles in the other room, even though they couldn't be seen from her current position. "How are the others?"

"Good. In fact, Engineer Donnelly was talking about you hours ago."

"Juicy gossip?"

"No, just grumbling about the credits he lost to you last week." There was a pause, and although the mask was concealing her face, it was clear that Tali was anxious. "I received a message from Shala'Raan this morning. Things are a bit… heated on the Fleet."

She didn't have to give any details. Shepard could easily guess the reason. The empty seat of an Admiral in a Board housing three contrasting opinions and the revelation of a 'cure' capable of turning the tide of the conflict in their favour, only begged for more trouble. The galaxy on the verge of annihilation, and all they could think of was the geth. And into all of this had walked Commander Shepard, persistent in her attempts to convince the opposite factions to set aside their antipathetic notions and work together. She snorted inwardly at her improbably romantic ideal.

"I didn't tell her to arrange a meeting," the quarian added.

"Don't. I prefer to first deal with krogan diplomacy. More straightforward," said the other woman, remembering how easily she'd managed to prove her point by headbutting Uvenk. Not the most feminine behaviour one would expect from the saviour of the Citadel, but she had become tired of hearing continuous inanity long before setting foot on Tuchanka.

"How's the design of the new shield going?" Shepard changed the subject. It wasn't going to lead to anything delightful. There were hardly any likeable topics these days.

"It's the most powerful thing you can find in the Citadel navy, but…" She hesitated. "I don't know how it's going to hold up against Reaper technology. The current CBT barely survived the Omega-4 trip. It's not possible to boost it a lot without putting too much pressure on the power core. A small collision and it will overload."

Sometimes Shepard wished that was the only weakness of this ship. By the time they had returned from their suicidal mission, there had been multiple hull breaches in the lower deck, created by something as small as an Oculus. The electrical sinks of the element zero core didn't have sufficient capacity to consume the discharges created during complex relay navigations. They'd learned that after activating the IFF. The stealth system possessed an exploit which they hadn't yet been able to discover. _She_ had learned that when SSV _Normandy_ burned to ash, and she along with it.

She was determined not to allow that to happen again. "Ask Legion to give you all the information we gathered from the Database Tower. Tell him to give you the schematics of the latest geth frigate shields, and tell him I sent you."

"Keelah…" Tali mumbled. The word was audible even over the hum of the engine.

Shepard looked at the quarian, arms crossed. Apparently, the past three weeks hadn't been enough for some people to get along with each other. "You two still having trouble?"

"Our problems are centuries old. They're not something we can forget with a chat or two." Tali moved back to the console and loaded the unfinished program—her way of escaping unappealing subjects. It wasn't going to work on her Commander, however.

"And?"

"I had a talk with him earlier today. He contributed so much to the conversation that I wouldn't have noticed it if someone had come and swapped him with a desk lamp."

That was an attitude Shepard could easily associate with the synthetic resident of the ship. A half-smile threatened to appear on her lips at that comparison, but she managed to keep her neutral appearance. "He's a taciturn being."

"Well, at least he's teaching me one thing with his behaviour: the virtue of patience. It takes a lot of effort not to energy drain that smug look of his every time we're speaking."

"Creating the impression of a conceited desk lamp is a task we have not yet accomplished even with our advanced technology," a digital voice replied from behind, making the two women turn to see Legion standing in the doorway, a datapad in hand, his face unreadable.

The quarian's helmet mouthpiece illuminated, indicating that she was about to make a retort. But the sentence never came out, and instead she began working on the computer again. Either it was the result of her superior's presence, or the console's constant low alerts demanding attention. And that was for the best. A squabble over such a matter was the last thing Shepard needed.

She took the document from the geth as he came closer to hand it over. The first few pages contained a copy of the articles she remembered skimming in the ruins some hours ago. As she browsed the information, one particular text file and its photo of the Preying Mouth caught her attention. Reading its title was enough. It was self-explanatory, a reference she'd expected to come across sooner or later in their journey. And its implications were troubling.

"It's a little late. I'll work on this tomorrow morning when I wake up."

Tali interrupted Shepard's line of thought, and she looked up from the datapad to see the quarian leaving the room and going for the lift after saying a "Goodnight".

After all these years, it wasn't that difficult to tell when someone was using a poor excuse to avoid something… or someone, in this case. Leaning back slightly on the railing, Shepard gave a critical look to Legion. "Are you two going to continue this kind of bickering forever?"

"Geth do not bicker," he placidly replied.

"That was you saying 'hello', then." Her eyebrows arched a little as she voiced her sarcasm. He didn't reply, and so she went on, "You might want to get on her good side for the sake of this mission. It'll make my treaty negotiation easier."

It was a request and not an order. He was aware of it, and she expected him to give a positive response as usual. A long pause followed, but no answer came. Just a contemplative stare that told her there was more to his previous behaviour.

When Shepard was about to question him further, Legion spoke. "Translation?"

It took her a few seconds to realise he was referring to the Prothean document in her hands. _'Of course.'_ No one else could understand it aboard this ship.

"Gas giant falls victim to dark energy," she recited the headline, keeping his gaze. There was a minor downward movement in his browplates, an alternation in his countenance. Even without asking, she knew he was thinking about the same thing which had crossed her mind the moment she'd read the text. The sudden unusual changes happening to Dholen were not something that could be easily forgotten.

Shepard scanned the article. "It says here, the planet's system—only referred to as RX7—used to be free from strife. So when two satellites orbiting one of its gas giants went missing, the authorities quickly became alarmed. They sent a frigate to investigate the situation. It _also_ disappeared.

"The second patrol sent for inspection uncovered worrisome truths about the planet, like abrupt increase in its mass and gravity. As it was the third celestial body to become affected like this in that year, the government dedicated exorbitant sums to discover the source of these abnormal dark energy emissions…" She looked at Legion. "They never found out."

A few moments passed as he digested the information, then took back the datapad from her and observed the old image of the planet.

There weren't many things capable of manipulating dark energy to that extent. Such a change required an astronomical amount of element zero and powerful electrical currents. If Shepard didn't know better, she would have guessed it had been caused by a persistent mass effect field created by the Citadel. But it had been offline and they were still losing the Heastrom's sun. The possible existence of some other contrivance, another massive relay hidden deep within space, came to her mind. Time and again, she had wondered if the Reapers would be foolish enough to leave only one way leading back to the galaxy. And the answer had always been no. The only thing which cast doubt on that notion was their delay in using it, even though the Citadel signal was no longer functional.

Her assumptions remained unspoken. They had been discussed in debriefings everytime she tried to find a solution, to understand the motives of their enemies who had lived for countless years. There was no denying they could not defeat the unknown.

She allowed her mind to put those speculations to rest for the moment. "Any other news?"

The _sotto voce_ sound of the engine was the only thing she heard for seconds as Legion placed the datapad on the console desk to his left. Shepard recognised that thoughtful demeanour all too well, and when he returned her gaze, she knew what he planned to say next wasn't going to be comforting in the least.

"A unit of quarian warships was discovered patrolling and deploying spy satellites in one of the isolated outer systems of geth space. They were destroyed along with most of the frigates responsible. Two, however, were successful in reaching the nearest relay and escaping."

Shepard briefly closed her eyes and exhaled in frustration, trying to think of something to balance this nightmare. "Have you told the rest of the geth about what happened on the Alarei?"

"No."

"Please don't," she said firmly. "I can get this under control."

It all sounded too familiar—her promise to make things right. She hoped he would be willing to comply one more time. Legion didn't reply, and Shepard didn't wait for one before turning to the drive core, hands resting on the console and eyes staring ahead. The cool enveloping haze of the engine nipped at her bare arms and fingers. It was less chilling than the prospect of an intergalactic war happening right before the Reaper invasion.

Even without questioning, she knew Tali had no idea of what was really happening on the Flotilla. Just as when they had visited it to attend a trial. Its results? A friend's name cleared, the reputation of a dead man saved, and the fate of billions sacrificed in the process. A fine example that you could damn everyone with just diplomacy and benevolence.

There was movement to her left, but Shepard didn't look at Legion as he came closer. His tone was softer when he spoke. "You plan to form an alliance between us and those who vowed to purge the universe of our existence. I do not oppose with your peaceful encouragements, but it will not alter the possible outcome of your future convention. The life beyond the Migrant Fleet rarely matters to those who inhabit it."

That was true. The image of a humble, innocent species had been soon dispelled when Shepard had met the Admiralty Board. For all their claims of being a large family, they didn't seem to mind abandoning one of their own when it served them well; nor did they appear to mind endangering others to get what they believed to be right. Their ambition to defeat the geth to reclaim their long lost homeworld was proof of that.

However, those reasons didn't stop Shepard from turning to Legion and answering back. "What about your race? Did the life beyond the Perseus Veil matter to them when they let the Heretics go to serve a Reaper?"

He had been expecting this topic to come up, for her to confront it openly, to give voice to the quiet distrust and suspense that had been lingering between them for a while. To respond with a cold, monotonous 'no' would have been irrational, and insensitive, though he had fewer problems with the latter as it was just related emotions, and nothing more.

"We did not anticipate it would lead to colonial destruction." That was the truth.

"Yet you didn't do anything to stop it when you saw what happened afterwards."

'One does not have the privilege of simply arriving in Citadel space and lending aid, when their mere presence is considered an act of hostility'. That would have been his reply if he had intended to answer her statement. But he wasn't there to give her a lecture on that subject, and she wasn't in the best state to listen to one, either.

"Do you desire retribution?" His voice was low and resonant.

For a second, Shepard wanted to open her mouth and deny it, to say that revenge had never been her _modus operandi_. She stopped. Had it not been? The burning image of Mindoir was still fresh in her mind, enmeshed with all its agonizing screams and miseries.

She shook that thought aside. It was the last thing she wanted to dwell on right now. When she shifted her gaze back to Legion, he was regarding her, patiently waiting for an answer. And she replied, "You gave me the chance to have it once, didn't you? It was such an ambiguous choice, I don't know whether I did you a favour by making it, or doomed you forever."

"You are not concerned with its moral integrity." It was a statement, not a question.

"No, it's not that…" She had been focused on gaining the most benefit from the conflict aboard that Heretic station. "I'm sure there are people who expect me to create a utopia from this chaotic world, but I've never been a saint."

"Yet you seek to preserve the interests of every single species—a task which will not lead to positive repercussions."

"Told you I've never been a saint," Shepard said. The irony didn't go amiss, but she found no humour in it.

"Then you are aware some expressions of the current galactic equation will inevitably be erased in the future." It was an honest logical reminder, with the same tone that had encouraged her yesterday to be less sympathetic towards her backstabbing superiors.

"Someday I may have to abandon your race to save another. Are you going to tell me the same thing when that time comes?"

She wasn't exactly referring to the quarians, even though the possibility had come to her mind on more than one occasion. Every war had its casualties, and the idea of disengaging one's emotions to sacrifice a synthetic species for the good of others seemed easier to bear. But they weren't simple insentient machines, and it wasn't a secret to her. _He_ was the very proof of why that common notion was incorrect. At least they didn't have any families, children, friends or lovers; Shepard was trying to convince herself.

"You do not require my approval to survive the imminent invasion," Legion replied at length.

"I need unshakable loyalties more than anything else."

"Do you have doubts?"

The contrast between his clarity of purpose and her natural sentimental conflictions was palpable. For a moment, she wanted to talk behind a masquerade of determination, but she paused. _Why lie?_

"I had five squad members when the first _Normandy _was destroyed, and only one of them returned to aid me the next time I met them. I had to search the galaxy for weeks and recruit people for my mission. Hundreds of thousands of humans died while I had to deal with strangers, convincing them to join my cause. You, I stumbled into out of the blue. All this time, I had to give a perfunctory smile to Cerberus, the very organisation that used me and my unit as lab rats to study thresher maws. Corporal Toombs was the only other person to survive." Her expression brightened minutely from past memories. "We were friends when I was younger." Her face darkened. "He sent a message a month ago, saying he wants me dead."

"Do you expect the past to repeat itself?" asked Legion.

"I've already given you my conjecture," Shepard said.

He considered her for a few seconds. "Are there any forms of amendment in your adjudications?"

"Perhaps. But you needn't bother. My disagreements haven't stopped you before from making decisions." A day hadn't been long enough for her to forget their argument and its critical consequences. She waited for him to comment on what had happened yesterday, but he didn't.

"You are a difficult human to satisfy." He sounded as calm as ever, his voice containing slight elements of something very like reverence.

That prompted a faint wry smile. "I didn't get the impression you were trying."

"It is not one of my obligations," he said. "Should it be?"

It sounded solemn, but she knew he wasn't actually waiting for a serious answer. He'd never struck her as one to agree with the inconclusive rules of organics' judgement. Sometimes it felt like _she_ was the one changing to fit into his world; a supplicant, seeking absolution…

She looked at him who was now contemplatively regarding the engine. And it was a relief, as lately, she found it challenging to conceal her inner thoughts under his penetrating gaze. She had never been hesitant to reveal such opinions, but he wasn't like any of the others. The room was silent as Shepard tried to remember when things had started to become this unprofessional and complicated.

Legion turned to her, face resuming its usual impassivity. "There were references of an ancient Prothean ornament, discovered by scavengers on Alchera's crash site."

Back to business, then. Shepard wished he'd at least given her a premonition, because after several heartbeats, she was still trying to get her thoughts together. Something that he'd probably done while staring at the engine, thinking at the speed of light.

"Where did you find this?" she asked finally. She'd considered that long lost trinket gone for good, along with her old dog tag.

"A geth database. It was a brief addendum," he replied. "You ought to contact Doctor T'Soni if you require more information. My knowledge of it is limited."

When she didn't say anything else, he gave a polite nod and went for the exit, apparently going to attend to his duties. She just leaned against the railing, not following him with her gaze as he walked away. The cool air of the engine room brushed over her skin, like the barest of caresses. She looked at the datapad lying on the console desk, silently reminding her of what had happened in the past minutes. The Reapers, the Protheans, the quarians and the geth fighting on the brink of extinction. Like that victory alone would even matter…

Shepard sighed. Right now, she just wanted to lie down and think of nothing else.

The quiet alert of her omni-tool indicated that she'd received a new message. The sender was Liara, as expected. The e-mail itself was short, containing a description, a photo, and a location—everything she needed to find a target. It seemed like she had to improvise her flight plans a little. There was no way she would allow such a lead to slide again.

"EDI. Tell Joker to head for Thessia."

Shepard heard the positive response of the ship's artificial intelligence as she headed for the elevator. It seemed like resting had to wait.


	19. Nemesis

**Nemesis**

Thessia, birthplace of the asari.

The evening view of its capital city seemed a dream-like landscape, painted over the dark canvas of the night, aglow with the illumination of tall buildings and the glint of vehicles flying by. Every single inch of the planet advertised diplomacy and harmony, but even with these glamorous displays, you could sense the undertones of pride and the quiet urge for dominance. It was all subtle. Like the population themselves weren't aware it was there. Somehow it reminded Shepard of the Citadel, the unawareness, the nonchalance.

"Have a pleasant stay," said an officer to her as she passed through yet another security gate. She responded with a smile—more over their failure to detect her concealed firearms—and walked toward the exit, after hearing their reassurance that her 'synthetic assistant' would shortly join her on the other side.

Stepping out of the scanning corridor, Shepard zipped up her jacket, already missing the extra protection her armour provided. But if a piece of metal was all she had to give up for one mission to escape the curious looks of the inhabitants and their unwelcome attention, so be it.

A gentle breeze passed over her face, and she closed her eyes for some moments, appreciating the fleeting comfort of its cold caresses. When she opened her eyes again, the city was the same, people still coolly unconcerned. And for a split second, she wished she too could share their ignorance.

"Enjoying the view, Shepard?"

She glanced at Miranda over her shoulder, then resumed her appraisal of their surroundings. "I prefer natural scenery."

There was silence as the ex-Ceberus Operative stood beside her and skimmed through the information Liara had sent on their target.

"I'm surprised our turian suspect chose here." She looked up from the holographic display of her omni-tool. "Usually people try to stick to the Terminus system. It's easier to slip unnoticed amidst all the chaos and lawlessness of that region."

"Maybe he's not hiding. Maybe he's here on a job."

"Hopefully not. That'll make it more difficult to catch him off guard," Miranda said, closing the document. "I have a contact working in the entertainment centre adjourning the hotel this guy is staying in. Want me to make a call?"

Shepard turned to her. "What is the allegiance of your contact?" she asked, not bothering to be tactful.

"Don't worry. She isn't Cerberus." The remembrance of a recent betrayal darkened Miranda's expression. "She isn't one to sell her friends for money, either."

A low voice at the back of her consciousness tried to tell Shepard that perhaps she should have used more finesse to handle any sour spot related to Niket, but she didn't feel more than a shade of regret. They couldn't afford to be betrayed by childhood friends and old acquaintances, she reasoned. That same voice told her she was being hypocritical, because similar things had been happening in her life as well.

"I'll consider it," Shepard replied at length, moving her gaze to Legion as he stepped out of the arrival gate and approached them. "Took you long enough. Did they get suspicious?"

"Additional security steps." He added matter-of-factly, "to avoid geth infiltration."

"Those were obviously effective," Miranda remarked, and that was the last exchange between them for the next couple of minutes as they walked in the direction of the rich plaza district.

The city's architecture was a work of art, but Shepard gave it no more than a few cursory glances, nor did she give any thought to the occasional shy advances of the young asari, seeking attention. Only their race would consider mating with someone from their own species highly inappropriate. She had a hunch it was more about the fear of creating Ardat-Yakshi and less about gathering better genes. She wondered what Samara would have said about all of this.

Perhaps it was a bit unfair leaving her back on the _Normandy_, but having a Justicar on the team would have made it too difficult to blend in with the other tourists. And the last thing Shepard wanted on this assignment was to draw unnecessary attention. This time there was no Spectre status to hide behind, no support from the Alliance. If anything went wrong from now on, she would have a hell of a time getting off the hook. She snorted inwardly at the notion. Why did she care? She was already considered a rogue agent. It was just unofficial.

When she focused her mind on their surroundings again, they were already near their destination. The hotel ahead had an inverted structural design, like all the other buildings in the district. It was its splendid exterior that made it stand out from the rest. A residence for the rich and powerful.

"He's probably booked his room under a different name," Shepard mused, still eyeing the building.

"Probably. How many turians have the name 'Cygnus'? It's obviously a fake," Miranda said. "We do have his photo though. We could always ask."

"I'd rather not blatantly reveal that I'm investigating him. The Council is probably keeping tabs on me."

They always did. And the knowledge of their spying had forever been an irritation. But it had been just that; irritating. Now it was a completely different matter. She had enemies in their ranks. The sudden removal of her Spectre status was proof of that… She inwardly cursed herself for not asking Anderson about what was going on with the Alliance.

"Revealing your intentions would not be required." Legion's statement brought Shepard back to their conversation. He was attentively watching something through the glass double doors, inside the hotel's lobby. She followed his gaze to the receptionist—no, the computer behind her—and then looked back at the geth, realising that he had a plan.

"Where did you say your contact was?" she asked Miranda.

The executive officer nodded in the direction of an exquisite building on the other side of the street. "She works at the bar over there. Just a cover."

Shepard took a few moments of consideration. "Talk to her and see what you can learn. Keep my presence here a secret if possible."

"Understood. Where should I meet you again?" Miranda asked, having already taken some steps towards the club.

"We'll be in the lobby, _browsing_ their servers."

With that they separated.

The interior of the hotel was decorated elegantly, and the contrast between the chilling air outside and the pleasant warmth here was palpable. Shepard would have taken off her jacket if it wasn't for the pistols she had been concealing underneath it since they'd set foot on this planet.

"How much time do you need?" she asked the geth as they casually walked towards the asari receptionist.

"Less than twenty seconds," he replied with his usual calm confidence, just loud enough for her to hear.

She nodded once, and allowed a charming smile to appear on her lips when the asari noticed them.

"Good evening," the girl greeted courteously when they reached the table. "How may I help you, ma'am?"

Her sweet smile faltered a bit as she glanced warily at Legion, but Shepard quickly caught her attention back. "Don't worry. He's completely harmless. Just keeps track of my messages. I didn't want business calls to interrupt my vacation." She continued, "speaking of which, I was supposed to meet with a friend here. Have you seen a human, male, with platinum-blond hair?"

It was one of the rarest combinations one could find in the small population of non-asari on Thessia. The display screen behind the receptionist flickered for the briefest of moments before returning to normal.

"I don't believe so, ma'am."

_Good_, the Commander thought.

"Do you want me to check our lists?" the asari offered.

There was a quiet beep from Shepard's omni-tool, indicating the arrival of a new message, and she looked down to check it.

_'Done.'_

There was no signature or sender name, but Shepard knew who it was from. She lifted her head to speak to the receptionist again. "I have to make a call. If you'll excuse me…"

The asari gave her an understanding nod and a polite farewell, and with that, Shepard turned away and headed to the relatively uncrowded area on the far side of the hall, near the elevators.

"Room 431," Legion said when they were out of earshot, then added, "It is currently empty. He is not within this building."

Shepard paused, considering their options. One of them in particular was very enticing. Raising a hand to her earpiece, she switched on the squad communication channel. "Miranda, are you done?"

"Yes. It appears our turian friend likes to visit this bar once in a while—alone, I might add. He orders some liquor, pays the bill and leaves. Nothing unusual."

"I need you to come to the hotel lobby and keep an eye on the entrance. Cygnus isn't here. I'm going to have a look at his room."

Miranda gave her assent, and with that taken care of, Shepard switched off the radio channel and hit the call button for the lift. It took more than half a minute for it to arrive from the top floors, and she spent that short time leaning back against a wall with her arms crossed, listening to the gentle music filling the air. And for just a few heartbeats, this ephemeral peace seemed never-ending.

The elevator's door slid back and they stepped inside. As it began its slow ascent to level eighty-nine, the magnificent nighttime landscape of Thessia came into view, complete with the rise of its imperious skyscrapers.

The speaker within the lift was broadcasting the radio on low volume, but Shepard paid it no heed, staring ahead at the scenery through the glass barrier.

"I told Tali to arrange a meeting with the Admiralty Board," she finally revealed. "I didn't give her any details."

When she turned to look at Legion, he was calmly regarding her, as if she had just repeated old news.

"Why?" he asked, referring to her lack of interest in sharing more information with the quarian.

She hadn't wanted Tali to notify the Board about their knowledge and give the likes of Xen and Garrel a headstart. But that could have easily been fixed with an order to keep it to herself. The truth was that after two nights tainted with restless dreams, she was too worn out to give a damn.

"Why haven't you?" She settled on asking him his own question.

"I am a geth. You are not," he replied.

That prompted a faint cynical smile, and she turned away dismissively to stare out at the city. "You're right. I'm the one who's always clearing up the mess others leave behind." Her voice was barely a whisper, almost muffled by the radio's sound, but his hypersensitive hearing picked it out nevertheless.

"That was not the implication of my previous statement."

She remained quiet, knowing that with her current impatience building, it wasn't wise to start a debate. She was about to check the holographic panel of the elevator to see which level they were at, when her name was mentioned on the news, and that immediately caught her attention.

"… Commander Jane Shepard, the first human Spectre and famed saviour of the Citadel, was reported resigning her status as a Council representative. While official sources state that this stepping down was a matter purely requested by Shepard herself, rumours circulating the extranet suggest otherwise. It appears as if this retirement was actually a legal response to Shepard's secret collaboration with Cerberus—a known terrorist organisation—and her other alleged crimes following the defeat of Saren Arterius.

"Commander Shepard was reported missing in action after a surprise geth attack on SSV _Normandy_, which led to the complete destruction of the Alliance ship. Believed to be dead for more than two years, Shepard astounded everyone by returning to the Citadel, perfectly unharmed. The Commander has offered no direct response regarding her escape from the explosion above Alchera, or her whereabouts during the long period she was considered MIA. She has however, been known to have been working on a cause related to stopping a possible threat, which she refers to as the 'Reaper armada'. In an unusual twist, these 'Reapers' were also one of her reasons for motivating the Council to grant, and later reinstate, her Spectre status. It remains to be seen if this danger actually exists, or whether it's simply a hoax-"

The radio suddenly went dead, and there was no need to question who was responsible for that.

Shepard directed her gaze at Legion, standing silent and rigid in front of her. Then she looked away, eyes unfocused, and took a deep breath, swallowed, clenched and unclenched her hand… anything to take make her forget the rush of bitter stinging emotions. Nothing helped.

The elevator halted and its door opened, but neither of its occupants moved an inch. There she stood, thinking of the universe's twisted sense of humour, and the heartless fashion in which its inhabitants denigrated her like vultures… No, 'scavengers' would be a more fitting description, because she was still alive when they were tearing down her reputation.

The lift door began to close again, before Legion pressed the stop button and waited. She knew he had been aware of what was happening on the media, but hadn't said a thing about it to her.

"Who's the new Spectre?" Her voice was hoarse and tired.

He remained quiet, his gaze lingering on her face, and the subtle trace of reluctance present in his expression was a clear enough answer.

She closed her eyes as it dawned on her, and murmured, "Don't say."

Kaidan… She had expected time to erase her sentiment for him, and the memories. But even now the disappointment, longing and confusion was fresh. As if Horizon had just happened yesterday.

Heaving a sigh, Shepard opened her eyes and walked out. "Let's go," she said, trying her best to appear unchanged by what had occurred during the elevator ride. The brief serenity she'd felt down in the lobby now seemed foolish and tragic.

Before she knew it, they were standing in front of the door to room 431. It slid back as Legion hacked the lock, before giving one last glance at the empty corridor and following Shepard inside.

The suite was enormous. After the entrance area and a few stairs down, was its spacious lounge. Except for the polished black furniture, it was decorated in restful colours, mostly white and different shades of light grey. From the floor-to-ceiling window that spanned the far wall ahead, Shepard could see a spectacular view of the city. But this time, she was too sombre to be moved by its beauty.

"I'll check the bedroom. Search the study," she told Legion, taking out a pair of leather gloves from one of her pockets and putting them on. She had too many problems already without leaving her DNA around.

A hand was placed reassuringly on her shoulder for a long moment. She could sense its lingering electric current even through layers of fabric, leaving a soothing sensation. The touch ended, and when she turned to look at Legion, he was walking away toward the study.

Bringing her attention back to their mission, she went to the bedroom on the left. The king-sized bed was perfectly made, on top of it a large suitcase. She opened it to find that it was empty. Glancing around to search for the possible location of its contents, her eyes fell on the wardrobe, and then the bedside table. The closet yielded a few sets of turian attire, along with a bath towel. She went through the pockets but discovered nothing of interest. Before going through the bedside table, Shepard paused to look at the picture frame sitting on top of it.

It was a photo of three turians—a male she recognized as Cygnus, a young female, and a child—all sitting on a bench in what appeared to be a park, waving mirthfully at the camera. At the lower left corner of the image was a phrase written in a cursive handwriting, which her translator converted to _"From Adrien to Dad"_.

Exhaling, Shepard opened the drawer and continued her search. It too didn't contain anything important. After crouching down to see if there were any extra suitcases under the bed and finding none, Shepard stood up and exited the room.

Back in the lounge, she walked to the phone, wondering if the turian had been sloppy enough to make a business call from the public line. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious, but after checking every call history for the sake of thoroughness, Shepard found an ID that wasn't for room service.

She heard Legion coming out of the study, his measured long strides approaching her. And sure enough, seconds later, his hand came in her direct line of vision, an identification card held between his middle and forefinger. Taking it from him, her gaze briefly fell on a photo of Cygnus before moving to the top line: _Elanus Risk Control (Maximum Security Clearance)._

"It is forged," stated Legion.

Shepard looked back at him. "So the guy who was there when the Prothean artifact vanished, was also in ERC when the Reaper device disappeared," she mused. Remembering the unfamiliar call history, she pointed at the phone's holographic display. "Do you recognize this region ID?"

He leaned over her shoulder to examine it. "Zelene, Crescent nebula. The planetary data is concealed."

"One system isn't that difficult to search for anomalies." She took a copy of the information for later scanning.

Shepard was pondering the likelihood of finding anything important in the mini-bar and the bathroom, when their communication link came to life. "Target entered the lobby just now," notified Miranda. "You better get a move on if you don't want to run into him."

The Commander considered that for a few seconds before asking: "Is he alone?"

"Yes." Miranda was briefly quiet in apparent realisation. "I see where this is going…"

Shepard took out her two concealed Carnifex pistols and tossed one to Legion. "I'm just improvising. Wouldn't be much different to the original plan."

"Should I come up?"

"We can handle him. Stay there near the elevator and block his escape, in case he makes a dash for the lift." She could imagine Miranda arching an eyebrow at that.

"What are you two there for then?"

"If that happens, making asses of ourselves." This prompt a faint amused expression from the geth, who walked to the main door and removed his hack from the lock.

"Wouldn't be the first time." She could detect the smirk in Miranda's voice.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," was the last exchange between them as Shepard moved back to the bedroom, where she had a good line of sight to the lounge. Legion took position on the opposite side of the suite as ordered, hidden closer to the main door.

Half a minute later, the door opened and in came a frustrated turian, holding a small personal computer in one hand.

"You're not _listening_! I know what's at stake!" he argued with someone over the phone, not paying attention to his surroundings.

There was a pause as the other party talked over the line.

"I did what I could! You're asking for too much!" Cygnus replied, placing his computer on the coffee table. "I told him to…"

His mandibles jerked in apparent anxiety. After a long moment, he let out a sigh in defeat before speaking in a quieter voice. "What do you need me to do?"

Carefully observing the scene, Shepard switched on the communication channel between herself and Legion. "Can you tap into his line?" she whispered.

"Attempting…" was his reply.

Soon she could hear the deep unsympathetic male voice of the other speaker. "…is no longer needed. Destroy it. An agent will contact you and deal with your current problem."

Cygnus tried to argue: "But the data-"

"Destroy it."

The line went dead.

Resting his hand on the back of the sofa, head bent, the turian closed his eyes. "Son of a…" he said under his breath.

Shepard walked calmly out of the shadows. "He sounded like a bastard alright."

He quickly opened his eyes and faced her, startled. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I would have liked to pretend I'm your future agent, but I've obviously been here before you made that call. There's no sense in putting on an act when I'm holding a gun…" When he made no attempt to go for a firearm, she went on, "…and you're not."

He gauged his chances, staring at her pistol. It was drawn, but not aimed. He then suddenly spun around and dashed for the entrance, coming to a halt when Legion stepped into his path, blocking his way to the exit.

Shepard raised her brows in mock amusement. "_That_… was stupid, Cygnus."

"They warned me you might snoop around." He moved his gaze from the geth back to her, and added, "Shepard."

"Figured that right now, did you?" Knowing that her enemies were aware of her interest in their operations was disturbing, but she didn't allow that knowledge to affect her expression.

"I didn't imagine you'd visit a lowly agent like me. You must be way behind if I'm all you've got."

"Oh? Why don't you enlighten me so I can get on par with your expectations?"

The turian searched her eyes, and his feigned confidence crumbled down to be replaced with something very like disappointment. "You don't even know half of it, do you?"

Shepard was starting to tire of his attempts at lengthening this conversation. It wasn't as if she planned to kill him after obtaining information. But then again, he didn't know it.

"Just give me a straight answer. Who-"

He cut across her. "Look, I didn't sign up for this. The job wasn't supposed be this dangerous." There was a short pause in-between his rambles, as if he was trying to make a decision. "I- I want out of this!"

She tried to get back his attention. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He took a desperate step toward Shepard. "You have to help me!"

"And I'm supposed to believe this sudden change of heart?" asked the Commander, eyes narrowing in suspicion and impatience.

"They told me to do it…" Cygnus began, like he was admitting a sin.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know!"

Alerted by the unusual demeanour of the target, Shepard chanced a glance at Legion. He was regarding the man, trying to discern his behaviour.

The turian resumed, "The data… It's all in my PC. Take it. Take whatever you want. There's even a copy of the fi-"

The interruption happened so fast—the lounge window breaking down, the whir of a tiny projectile moving through the air, and the next thing Shepard knew, there was a bullet hole between Cygnus' eyes.

The immediate sniper shot penetrated her barriers and grazed the side of her left temple. Without hesitation, she turned over the nearby table, taking shelter behind it with Legion. The next two shots hit where their heads had been moments ago. A second later, two Saber wielding assassins joined the array on the opposite building. The hail of bullets that followed ripped apart most of the furniture in the living room.

Looking around for Cygnus' computer, Shepard found it lying haphazardly on the floor. She began inching toward it, but the device was shot and destroyed.

"Dammit!"

She leaned back against the impaired table, trying to figure out a way for them to reach the entrance without dying in the process. A bullet pierced through their weakened shelter, then another. Legion deployed a geth stationary shield, and it managed to deflect the assaults for a short time before succumbing to the potent attacks.

"It cannot sustain this amount of damage," stated Legion, re-deploying the shield.

Gaze determinedly on the exit, Shepard allowed her eezo nodules to create an enveloping biotic barrier and expanded it into a spherical field, surrounding them both. "Get to the door!"

They ran to the entrance. Bullets ricocheted off the barrier, falling among the splinters of broken furniture on the floor. She had to struggle to keep the protection up under all that fire, breathing rapidly. A bead of sweat slithered down her forehead, and a stinging pain shot through her head as the droplet passed over her left temple. And if that wasn't enough to remind her of the injury, the metallic smell of blood that soon followed was.

Legion opened the door, and following him, she sprinted out into corridor, dropping the barrier the moment they were in the relative safety of the hallway. Ignoring the sound of the sirens filling the air, Shepard reached a hand to switch on her earpiece and contact Miranda, but the operative beat her to it.

"Shepard, what the hell is going on? All the the alarms have gone off. I'm hearing gunfire coming from above."

"Cygnus has been assassinated," she replied, running to the lift with Legion to her right. "His room was a damn war zone. We've just escaped-"

The suite they had come out suddenly exploded, and they both spun around to watch the wreckage in shock. There was a second explosion, and the force of it sent out flames and concrete into the corridor.

"Shepard? Shepard, what's happened?" Miranda's demanding voice was tinged with confusion and concern.

"Get out of the hotel. That's an order. It isn't safe for us here." She began running toward the elevator at a faster pace.

"Listen, I…" the operative paused. "_Shit!_ Thessia Security is heading your way."

That made the Commander stop. They didn't need such a thing added to this mess. "What? Where are they?"

"Some are blocking the main staircase, several groups are coming up with the elevators."

Shepard checked the holographic display above the lift, and sure enough, the transportation device was ascending to their location.

"Room 427 on this level is empty," stated Legion, based on the knowledge he'd gained from hacking their servers earlier. "It is also in close proximity to the emergency staircase, should we fail to locate a more secure escape route from within the accommodation."

"Does the staircase lead straight to the rooftop?" she thoughtfully asked as he moved ahead of her to hack the door.

"I would not advise exploration of such an exposed area, considering the presence of hostile snipers," he said, understanding where she was going with that question.

The door slid back and he stepped aside for her to enter first. The suite was similar to the one they had visited before, only decorated in darker colours. The main window faced the entertainment centre of the city, and they both knew breaking the glass and climbing down in such a populated area would lead to more trouble than going up to the roof.

At least they had a place to hide for some minutes until the situation calmed down a bit, Shepard thought. She walked back closer to the door to listen to what was happening in the corridor. There were the usual barking of commands from a superior to subordinates, and the polite orders to stay indoors directed to the guests who were curious or foolish enough to stick their heads out and peek at the hallway.

When it became apparent after a short while that the security wasn't going to check all the suites for anything suspicious, Shepard exhaled in relief. Turning around, she leaned against the wall near the entrance, and it was then that she noticed Legion was staring at her face with a pensive expression.

"Your head," he said.

"It's okay."

He hadn't taken more than a few steps towards the bathroom to search for a medi-gel, when the hubbub outside in the corridor died down, grabbing the attention of both he and Shepard.

"Any sign of the accomplices?" they heard an asari question in a commanding tone.

"No, Captain. We even checked the room, but almost everything was charred."

"Dammit, I gave them orders to keep an eye on the suspect! I'm not supervising them for an hour, and a pile of ash is all that's left of him!" She stopped her rant at the same time as the sound of the footsteps of an approaching group became audible. "Who are they? I told the Delta team not to let anyone use the elevators," she said, irritated. "Who authorized your arrival-"

She was silenced with a bullet. Screams and cries filled the hallway, but they soon died down along with the sound of the rapid gunfire.

Shepard shared a look of alarm with Legion, shifting cautiously to the door, gun at the ready.

A hoarse male voice, slightly digitalized by what seemed like the mouthpiece of a helmet, broke the momentary silence. "Any sign of Shepard?"

"No. Our snipers last saw her running away with the geth before we could take them out with the missile launcher," replied another man. "What should we do?"

"Well, check the building! She couldn't have escaped." At that, some of the agents broke off from the group to hurry off along the corridor. "And search for that ex-Cerberus operative while you're at it! Lawson's been spotted!"

Shepard quietly walked away from the door and to the bedroom, switching on the communication channel. "Miranda, are you safe? Where are you?" she asked, just loud enough for the other woman to hear.

"In a shop near the hotel, trying to look as nonchalant and normal as possible."

"Someone just killed the Captain and her accompanying squad."

"_What?_"

"I don't know who they are, but they know we're here and they're trying to kill us," Shepard continued, casting a glance back to the entrance and ignoring Miranda's bewildered inquiry. "They've recognised you. Try to stay out of sight and get back to the _Normandy_."

"What about you?"

Shepard held Legion's gaze for a long moment. "Send a cab on auto-pilot to the roof. We'll get it from there."

"Alright."

She turned off the comm-link and went back to her previous position next to the geth. "Can you hear anything?"

"Only the occasional terrified whispers of the organics occupying the adjourning rooms. The assassins exited the corridor eighteen seconds ago."

She carefully opened the door and checked outside, prepared to reave any hostiles. Aside from the bodies lying on the floor in a pool of blood, the hallway was empty. Crouching down, Shepard picked up an M-12 Locust and a Mantis sniper from one of the dead asari officers, giving the latter weapon to Legion before collecting a handful of thermal clips.

They skipped the elevator and used the stairs instead to lower the chance of alerting their enemies. There was no opposition on the way up, and after climbing about a dozen flights, they reached the airlock that led to the vast rooftop. Air-conditioning shafts and metal containers could be seen here and there, but Shepard gave them no more than a glance and kept walking toward the low perimeter wall, and the blue car hovering above it far ahead.

They were less than thirty feet away from the cab, when the dim noise of loading a heavy gun sent them into alarm. Wasting no time, they rolled behind the nearest cover, barely dodging a missile that continued its trajectory and hit their vehicle. It crashed down onto the rooftop in a heap of burning metal, exploding soon afterwards.

Shepard raised a hand to shield her face from the heat of the blast, aware of the sound of rushing footsteps of about a dozen mercenaries coming out onto the roof through the door behind. Before they could point their guns, she stood and hit the rocket trooper with a biotic reave, more for venting anger than healing the scar marring her face. The man was still screaming in agony when she crouched back down beside Legion.

Activating the incendiary ammunition of her SMG, she gave him a roundup of the opposition: "Three with shotguns, two snipers, and another heavy lingering in the back of the group. The rest seem to have just assault rifles."

After spawning a geth shield over his armour, Legion got up, took aim and shot. There was a wet splashing sound and shouts of expletives, and without checking, Shepard was certain someone had just lost their head.

"Which one?" she asked as he returned to cover to reload the Mantis. He leaned out and took another shot, hitting his mark.

"The snipers," Legion replied, then added, "Two hostiles separated from the group to assume positions to the right."

She had an idea why he'd given her that tiny bit of information. Inching away from the container, Shepard gazed around and pinpointed their exact location behind a large crate. Less than forty metres away. Their mistake.

Charging across the rooftop, she moved to the agents. They were shielded, but stumbled backward from the impact nonetheless. Before they could regain their footing, she grabbed the collar of the nearest man and slammed him with bone-shattering force against the metal crate. The second one tried to back away, but was flung into the perimeter wall with a shockwave before sliding down and lying there, dead.

Two deaths in such a short interval caught the attention of the other remaining troopers, and Shepard had to duck in time to avoid a missile. Their focus briefly shifted from her when a combat drone spawned in the midst of their group, and she used that momentary window to unleash a burst of fire. Another of her assailants fell to the ground.

A shot of potent electric current hit her Locust and the weapon instantly overheated. Cursing under her breath, Shepard dropped the sabotaged SMG to the ground, searching for a trooper who had been careless enough to leave an opening for her to exploit. One of them at the back of the group had paused to reload his AT-12 Raider, and without hesitating, the Commander phased to his location. In the few moments that the world seemed to slow around her as she came out of the charge, Shepard seized the shotgun and brought it up to attack at its previous owner. Realising the demise of their colleague, the others spun round to fire at her a second too late. Another one of them died with a point-blank bullet to the neck.

The weapon clicked, and Shepard was about to release a reave before making a dash to her original cover, when a mass of arctic subatomic particles hit a target from the right, freezing him on the spot. A second later, he was shattered with a sniper headshot. Using the delay to her advantage, Shepard released a shockwave to push back the remaining troopers and sprinted to her intended destination.

"Since when did you use cryo blast?" she asked Legion, taking shelter behind the container.

"Ten seconds ago," he replied, ejecting a spent heatsink.

A flash of worry passed her mind at the memory of a detail. "One of them can sabotage."

"He has been eliminated," was Legion's calm reply. He regarded her, knowing that she hadn't been concerned about the future condition of their firearms. "I cannot be hacked, Shepard."

She arched an eyebrow at the touch of superiority in his otherwise matter-of-fact tone. "No. You just faint from a zombie-slap to the face."

Their banter was interrupted when their cover was hit by a missile. Glancing, Shepard spotted only four other agents, one with a rocket launcher, the rest holding assault rifles.

"Take out the heavy," she told Legion, then rolled away to another crate, shortening the distance to her next targets. The sound of another sniper shot echoed through the area, and out of the corner of her eye, Shepard caught a glimpse of the headless body of the former rocket trooper falling backward onto the ground.

Reaving the life force of one assassin, she charged to another and killed him on the spot. Her cold gaze moved to the last standing figure a few metres away, looking like a doomed animal caught in the headlight's glare, knowing that his death was about to arrive.

Shepard pointed the weapon to his chest, and then, eyes narrowing, lowered it and shot him in the kneecap. Blood splattered from his leg as he yelled in pain and hunched in an attempt to keep himself upright.

"Who sent you?" There was no trace of mercy in her voice.

The agent tried to speak, but what came out was a choking sound. He was wearing a helmet like all the rest, and she couldn't see whether there was blood in his mouth.

"Who sent you!"

He tried to reach a hand to his neck, as if he was suffocating. "Help… Help…"

Shepard was about to step closer and yank the helmet from his head, when suddenly Legion grabbed her upper arm and jerked her backwards. Not a second later, the entire body of the assassin exploded. What little was left of his appendages started to ignite from the inside out.

Standing still, Shepard stared in disbelief at the remaining mess of organs. "How…" she began, still absorbing the shock of what they had just witnessed.

Looking around, they saw that the other bodies were also aflame, turning into dust. The only proof that remained of their battle were the weapons lying on the ground, bullet holes, and the sickening smell of burnt meat filling the air.

The sound of approaching sirens interrupted her haze of thoughts. Experienced in fighting and methods of survival, Shepard knew she couldn't allow the unusual occurrence to distract her right now. She glanced at the still-smoking skeleton of their car before moving to the roof's low perimeter wall. One hand on the edge, she leaned out and checked the area below through the zoom lens of her pistol. The alley at back of the hotel was about three hundred metres down and vacated due to the problems that had transpired in the building. The drop beneath her wasn't anything that couldn't be taken care of with a magnetic grapple.

Straightening, she directed her gaze to Legion, who observed the alleyway for a moment longer, before shifting his eye to Shepard and stretching a hand to her, palm upwards.

The gesture lifted her spirit slightly. "Thanks for the polite offer, but I can handle myself."

Taking a step closer to the perimeter, she took out the small grapple from a pocket in her trousers. Magnetic hook secured to a nearby metal container and the wire connected to her belt, Shepard leapt from the edge. The cold midnight air of Thessia swept past her face in an icy rush. During the fall, the city's many voices were muffled, a dreamy blend of sounds. How sad that this fleeting bliss perished in a heartbeat.

When the ground was near enough, she disconnected the grapple from the building and cushioned the rest of her fall with a biotic field. As she was putting the hook back in her pocket, Legion dropped down, landing in a crouch, the force of impact creating a crack on the ground. He stood up straight away, as if he hadn't just jumped down from a skyscraper.

A recycling bin was nearby, and Shepard approached it to dispose of her unwieldy shotgun. "I see why you like to drop down from flying shuttles."

"It is efficient," he said, discarding his sniper likewise.

She reviewed the brief memory of her experience. "It is perfect."

It was a soft whisper—a thought spoken aloud to herself—but he paused, contemplative and pensive, to regard her admiration for something that his kind only considered an effectual action.

Shepard looked up at where they had been, expression darkening again. Her momentary serenity faded as flashes of what had happened in the hotel passed through her mind, enmeshed with the smell of smoke and the sirens of advancing police cars. They couldn't linger here.

When they began to stride out of the alley, she contacted Miranda, making sure the execuitve officer had managed to reach the _Normandy_. The conversation was short, as was the trip back to the plaza located near the docking bays. On the way, Shepard cast a few glances to their surroundings. The same illusion of security existed in the place, as if nobody had bombed a building a few streets down. Perhaps it had been too much to hope for these people to pause and question their level of safety in the world. She wanted to feel sympathy for their naivety, but as they passed a news stand, her ears picked up on the same report she'd heard on the lift. And she wondered that maybe these people weren't worth her pity.


	20. Biohazard

**Biohazard**

Death, destruction, chaos.

Those words could easily summarise what had happened on Thessia—a disaster enshrouded in irony and anonymity. A grim mystery that kept nagging at the back of her mind, even as she sat in the mess-room and picked at her salad.

It had been the uncanny resemblance between the fate of their assassins and abominations that had urged Shepard to consult with Mordin. His answers had been limited, and based on assumptions. Not that she had been expecting any better. They'd needed samples and a handful of ash had been the only trace of evidence left on the rooftops.

"The galaxy is a dangerous place, Vakarian. Shit always comes about." Jacob's voice brought Shepard out of her thoughts, and she lifted her gaze from the half-eaten food to check him and Garrus sitting at the opposite end of the table, still playing Skillian Five. Thane was calmly waiting for his steaming herbal beverage to cool down, fingers wrapped around the mug, and Legion was a few seats away, scanning through the documents they'd gathered from Maelon's lab in the Blood Pack hospital.

"Heard what happened to Belan about two weeks ago?" Taylor asked, continuing the previous topic.

"Yeah. The planet was devastated," the turian replied. "Why didn't they destroy the comet?"

"It would have cost significantly more than the evacuation of the whole colony," Thane answered.

"The Council didn't even bother to assist with the evacuation."

"They didn't do anything when the Collectors abducted hundreds of thousands of colonists. Why would it matter to them if a few more disappear?" Shepard asked. The sullen undertone in her voice was enough indication of her silent resentment toward the Council. Time alone wasn't going to make her forget the denigrating way they'd treated her in the past days, or the sardonic news she'd heard back on the hotel's elevator.

"ETA to Tuchanka is twenty minutes," EDI's announcement rang through the room.

Shepard gave an absent nod in response. It was an unnecessary gesture, but she knew the AI would see it anyway, having access to practically every camera on the ship.

"Good luck dealing with the likes of Wreav, Commander," Jacob said.

She poked a bite-size piece of broccoli with her fork. "Wrex should keep them in line," she replied before putting the vegetable into her mouth.

Garrus used this opportunity to lighten the mood. "If all else fails, you can switch to headbutting mode again."

At the word 'again', Legion looked up from the datapad to Shepard, and she could only imagine how such an impetuous action would seem from his ratiocinative perspective.

"Uvenk wouldn't shut up," she defended herself.

Thane took a sip from his drink. "I'm amazed you attempted that without a helmet."

"At least she didn't try to deflect a missile with her face," Jacob retorted.

"I recall someone getting their ass torn apart by a heavy mech in Freedom's Progress. Who was it?" Garrus feigned consideration. "Ah… Jacob Taylor."

"Ha ha. Been trading vids with Joker for tips on humour?"

"No, just saw it in the mission reports."

When she had finished eating, Shepard pushed back the chair and got up. "Grab my weapons as well when you go to the armoury. I'll meet you in the hangar bay," she instructed Legion and went behind the counter to put her plate in the dishwasher. She then headed to the elevator, requesting that EDI notified Grunt about their approach.

The ride to the topmost level was short, and before she knew it, the door opened to reveal her quarters. Cerberus' attempt to cram as much luxury in the room as possible had almost made it a parody. Almost. Perhaps if she hadn't decorated it with mementos of anguishing memories. The model of Sovereign hanging in the glass case, she'd once considered a trophy. Now it seemed a mockery, same as the damaged N7 helmet next to the picture frame that was lying face down.

Body clad in black armour, Shepard left the room. The hangar bay was empty when she arrived—not exactly surprising, because it had taken her less than ten minutes to brush her teeth and get into her suit.

She used this opportunity to check the current state of the _Normandy_ via one of the nearby consoles: the kinetic barriers were fully operational, so were the weapons and the life support systems. These reassuring phrases offered little comfort to her, however. Everything had been 'fully operational' right before their last frigate had been destroyed. Going in a fight prepared only meant that they had less chance of being defeated. But the risk was still there.

The elevator door behind her opened. Even if she wasn't expecting Legion, his measured tread, accompanied by the faint sound of synthetic muscles in motion, would have revealed his identity.

"Urdnot Grunt is in the armoury." His impassive voice broke the relative silence. "The M-300 Claymore has a minor bullet dispersion error. Operative Taylor is currently assisting with repair."

"That weapon hasn't been used since the Omega-4 trip." And had not been calibrated since. Grunt was the polar opposite of Garrus when it came to maintaining firearms.

Not lifting her eyes from the status reports, Shepard continued, "There's been a dent in the Iridium supply. I wonder if you…"

She trailed off as the geth came to stand next to the console, holding out the new heavy weapon he had been working on as per her request. It was covered in dark colours, its shape reminding her of Blackstorm, and she grabbed the gun from him, fascinated.

It was lightweight compared to its size, built with an alloy similar to that of her new shotgun. When her index finger hovered over the trigger, a small holographic display came online. The panels covering its front part rotated and slid back a little, revealing the tip of its large barrel. A soft glint near the handle compelled her to look at the small silver letters forming an appellation: _'M-20 Typhon'_

"You named it?"

"No. The term was in the original schematic," Legion responded.

She suspected as much. Relating mythical creatures to technology wasn't his style.

"You probably prefer simple numbers." And then, remembering his sniper, she teased, "Or 'dowager'."

"The 'Widow' was a label designated by organics," he countered her remark.

She proceeded to holster the Typhon, deciding to hold back her punch lines now that the joke was on her own kind. "I'm sure Wrex wouldn't mind if we stay a bit longer after the meeting to try this."

The subtle thrill of testing a powerful heavy weapon soon faded as Shepard recalled it wasn't the only assignment he had been working on. She wanted to plainly ask how things were going with the Reaper programme, but held her tongue, aware of the _Normandy_'s watchful AI.

Mordin was right. Their mission was too important to keep secrets and this was a matter that had to be eventually addressed. Just not today. Maybe right before a shore leave so she could declare it and then escape the barrage of questions. Last time she'd given Legion a crucial and dangerous task, it was during their assault on the Collector base and almost everyone looked as if they were longing to object. Even she'd had doubts.

"How's the other project coming along?" Shepard vaguely asked, taking the shotgun and rifle which he'd brought for her from the armoury.

"Progress is slow."

"Have you considered any fail-safes?"

"Numerous," was his resolute answer.

Shepard hoped self-destruction was not one of them. The notion of such a possibility filled her with uneasiness. _Numerous_, her logic repeated, trying to reassure her. Of the many things she'd wanted to question, to emphasise again, one now seemed important, and she considered saying it in the guise of an order, but stopped.

"Be careful." It was short, too low to be considered a command. The impulse to add something and make it sound more businesslike was there, but she resisted it. The silence between them remained undisturbed as he replied by slightly inclining his head.

It was then when Grunt arrived and jogged towards them, effectively interrupting the moment.

"I'm ready! Let's crack some heads!"

That earned him a blank stare from the geth.

* * *

It was sunset when their shuttle entered the planet's atmosphere. Outside, the view was a bleak composition of destroyed buildings, almost enveloped in the passing sandstorm and darkened by the shadows of the angry clouds above. There was no harmony among the creatures living here, nor did they possess a trace of gentleness. The only thing practiced by the inhabitants was survival, and survival alone.

This was Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld.

"It looks even worse from this angle," Grunt said, standing near one of the windows and checking the scenery.

"Not much love for your species' birthplace," Shepard commented, elbows resting on her knees and hands clasped.

"It's a shell of its former glory. Now it's just a pile of radioactive junk."

"It can still be fixed." She leaned back. "If your people stop bombing it every time there's some progress."

He returned to his seat in front of her. "They're krogan. They blow up things."

"Self-inflicted damage to this extent is extremely illogical," Legion stated.

Grunt shifted to face the geth. "Do you have blood rage?" he asked irascibly.

"No," was the monotonous reply.

"Technically, he doesn't even have blood," the Commander mentioned.

"Huh?" Grunt's attention moved back to her. "What were those white splashy things?"

"Conductive fluid." She then explained to Legion, "He was with Garrus and I on Haestrom."

"The battle was glorious!" the krogan declared. "And the part where you blew up that huge chunk of walking metal…" He let out a short, deep chuckle. "That was fun."

Legion's eye aperture contracted slightly in apparent contemplation. "Armature?"

"Colossus," Shepard replied.

He was quiet for a few seconds, probably visualising different scenarios in which a human would encounter such a monumental opponent on foot, and survive.

"They have self-repair protocols," he said and waited for her to reveal how she overcame it.

"Well, it kind of didn't have time to use that," she wryly responded.

Grunt chimed in: "She placed a nuke right on its ass. Ha!"

Legion wasn't surprised in the slightest. Her list of accomplishments was a long and impressive one. He'd thoroughly analysed her personal and military history 1.2 billion times ever since being tasked with locating and negotiating with her – 1.19 billion times of which had happened during the two years and forty-three days he'd considered her to be dead. Finding a replacement had been indispensable for the geth's survival in the Reaper invasion. No organic had matched. Most had been incompetent, delusional, focused merely on obtaining power in a hierarchy, wrapped in their sentimental fantasies of what they labelled serenity and love. The few with seemingly acceptable psychological and physical potential had not had the necessary social status to influence their organic kind… Their codes were not superior.

"Shepard, there seems to be a problem with the Urdnot camp's communication tower," EDI informed through the Kodiak's speakers. "I suggest fixing it. The approaching sandstorm would make it difficult to contact the _Normandy_ otherwise."

"Noted."

As they approached their destination, she reminded Grunt of the mission parameters. "This is a diplomatic meeting. Let me handle the krogans who oppose us."

"They can rave all they want. No twist my quad."

Krogans had many unusual idioms. _That_ was not one of them.

"Your literary creativity is… unique," Legion said equably.

That led to a confused look from Grunt and an amused smile from Shepard, but it faded as the conversation prompted her to recall his mental imprinting routine, Rana's responsibility for creating it, and her knowledge of indoctrination.

Omni-tool activated, Shepard compiled a message for Liara, asking her to locate the neurospecialist. The shuttle was descending on the landing zone when she sent the mail.

"Brace yourself. The Urdnot camp isn't exactly well-kept," was her warning to Legion.

"I am able to predict its probable disorganised condition."

"Oh, I doubt that."

When the Kodiak touched the ground, Shepard got up and walked to the exit. As she was about to open the hatch, she saw the view outside through the window, and her hand froze on the door's control panel.

Just down the ramp connected to the landing pad was a pile of corpses, all krogans. The main entrance was wide open, nobody guarding it.

"What's happened here?" Grunt asked, voice tinged with confusion and anger.

"The victims do not appear to have been mortally wounded." Legion turned to Shepard. "Death might have been caused by radiation, a chemical or biological agent."

She tried to contact EDI, hoping the sandstorm hadn't yet closed in enough to interfere. Her communication attempt failed.

"Mask on," she ordered Grunt, putting on her helmet, and as soon as he was ready she hit the opening button. The hatch moved up with a hiss and they went out, weapons drawn. Halfway through the corridor leading to the main area, Shepard started to hear noises coming from the other side and quickened her pace. As the heavy metal door slid back, she paused, momentarily speechless by the disastrous state of the camp before her.

A row of bodies were on the ground to the left, a dusty old blanket laid over them. Ahead, two fully armoured krogans were dragging a corpse to toss it into the now aflame gambling pit, and another krogan pulling a cart filled with the dead approached the fire. Beside them, someone was taking down a cloth barrier. Whether it was to make traversing easier for the others or to use the material for wrapping bodies, Shepard couldn't tell.

The barking of commands coming from the throne area caught her attention and recognizing the voice as Wrex's, she quickly holstered her gun and walked up the ramp to find him. He was standing next to the stone chair with his back to her, body covered in armour and wearing a helmet, like all the other living krogans they'd thus far encountered.

"Wrex, what's going on?" she interrupted.

He turned around. "Shepard," Wrex greeted with a nod, approaching the group of newcomers. "Didn't you get my message?"

Her eyebrows drew downwards in a frown. "No."

"Wondered why you didn't come sooner," he mused aloud, before answering her original question. "There's a nasty disease in the air. I've had Fortack trying to figure out something from this mess."

"Are you okay?"

"Got lucky. Was away investigating something in an old arena when the sickness hit this area of Tuchanka." He motioned for them to follow him down the ramp.

"How did this happen?"

"Started a week ago when a team of scouts returned from checking the perimeters. They complained about dizziness and headaches, then began coughing blood. Died a day later. Since then we've had corpses everywhere."

This sounded suspiciously like what happened on Omega. She hoped the cause would turn out to be anything but that virus, because the implications and consequences of having it as the agency responsible for Tuchanka's current state would be catastrophic.

The thought compelled her to contact Mordin, and it was then that she remembered her earlier failure to establish a connection.

"What's wrong with your comm. tower?" Shepard asked.

"It obviously isn't worth crap," Wrex grumbled.

She gestured toward Legion. "He should be able to fix it. Where is it?"

"Not far." He then shouted at a nearby krogan, "You! Move your hump over here and get this geth to the tower!"

The guard complied and ushered Legion to one of the exit tunnels. When they were halfway across the camp and it seemed there weren't going to be any complications between them, the Commander faced Grunt. "Go back to the _Normandy_ and return with Mordin. Tell him we've got a biohazard situation here."

"Okay, Shepard," he assented and started jogging back to the shuttle.

"Have him diagnose you first," she added, a bit louder for him to hear.

Standing close to the entrance leading to the Shaman's chamber, she could hear people coughing and groaning. The Urdnots seemed to have re-purposed the room to keep the sick. Judging from the sounds inside, there were a lot of them, probably even from the other clans.

"Where's Wreav?" she inquired, noticing his absence.

"At the bottom of the gambling pit." Wrex regarded the blazing hole, his face grim. They had never seen eye to eye, but their dark past couldn't hide the fact that he was a victim of this disease; a disease which had already killed many of his own clan, some still lying on the ground, many burned to ashes.

"Have you checked the perimeter the sick scouts came from?" Shepard asked, and they began walking forward.

"Yeah, nothing suspicious. I would have sent a group to search the nearby city ruins, but I can't spare anymore guards," he replied, inspecting the activities of the other krogans while passing by them.

"How are the other clans doing?"

"Bad. Things like this spread fast. It's not like each of us lives on a separate continent."

She knew it wasn't difficult for an airborne virus to disperse on a windy planet like Tuchanka, but she'd hoped the krogans' durable rudimentary system would help them resist it for longer. Wishful thinking, because if this was the same thing created by the Collectors, nobody could escape from it. What disturbed her the most was the fact that it had been released here in the first place. A list of possible culprits and their reasons for doing such a thing began to form in her head. The best one included the vorcha and an asinine scheme for domination. The worst one… She didn't even want to think about it.

"Can it be the work of the vorcha?" she started, trying to gain more clues about the outbreak.

Wrex let out a short chuckle. "Vorcha genetic engineers? What have you been drinking, Shepard?"

She gave him a scowl without actually meaning it. "I meant the distribution."

He became serious again. "I've been keeping tabs on the vorcha living here for a month. No new ones have arrived, and the old ones are too busy being shot at for target practice." He continued, "I would have blamed the turians or the salarians, but I don't think those varrens and pyjacks have enough quad or stupidity to detonate explosives in the Shroud."

She frowned slightly. "The Shroud?"

"A construction built by the salarians to stabilize the atmosphere," Wrex explained. "I would've bombed the place myself if we didn't need it."

She stopped walking. "You have such a thing on your planet, and you're wondering how an airborne plague has been distributed?" Irritation was evident in her voice.

"_Had_ such a thing," he corrected her. "The destruction of the Shourd was what I'd been investigating in that old arena. I would have bet a dozen krogan testicles the sickness started from there, but everyone who accompanied me on that mission is okay."

Remembering what he had mentioned earlier, Shepard asked, "Where are these city ruins you talked about?"

"About thirty miles south of here."

She took some seconds to digest the information. Tuchanka was a large planet, most of its sections populated by the krogan. Despite that, the outbreak seemed to have started from a remote location, somewhere with fewer hosts to infect and spread. It almost appeared as if whoever was responsible had deliberately attempted to slow the contagion's dispersion. But why?

"I'm going to need one of your trucks," said Shepard deep in thought, to which Wrex consented in reply.

Her squad radio channel came to life. "The communication tower has been repaired," Legion informed.

"Return to the camp. We have to check something."

"Acknowledged."

When the headset went offline, she shifted her focus back to Wrex. "Anything I can do right now?"

"No. We're just moving the bodies and burning them. Last thing we need is for a horde of hungry klixen to smell the meat and pour into our territory." He nodded in the direction of one of the tunnels leading to the surface. "Some of the guards are reinforcing the walls around the camp and keeping an eye for the beasts. Send Grunt to lend them a hand if you can spare him."

"I can request aid from the _Normandy_ if the situation is too dire."

"Krogans always endure. We've been holding ourselves like this in the past few days." Knowing that she didn't have any further important questions, he began moving toward the room she recognized as Fortack's lab. "I'll let you know if things get worse."

She didn't follow him, but instead wandered to the large tunnel previously used for testing the defense canons. The chief scout wasn't anywhere around, neither was Ratch. Next to the shop lay a krogan, coughing, weak, reciting old battle tales to the one beside him, not knowing that his companion was already dead. Shepard continued ahead. There were corpses to her right, some in carts, some on the ground, about to be burned and erased from this world forever. Her gaze fell on one of them and she stopped. The lifeless eyes of the asari stared back at her. Suddenly the air seemed colder and heavy. She urged her feet to walk away.

When the miserable sounds back in the camp were just muffled noises, she stopped. The passage was empty, its end not visible. Sand fell from the small cracks in the ceiling, reminding her this was an underground tunnel. A catacomb.

"Shepard."

"What was the tower's problem?" she asked Legion.

"Overload of one of the main circuits due to lack of proper maintenance."

"Welcome to Tuchanka." Her tone was devoid of humour.

He came to stand beside her. The light of his eye removed the partial shadows in their immediate area and made the others inkier and defined, so that for a moment, their surrounding environment seemed almost black and white.

"I heard someone once say the chaotic state of this planet 'builds character'," Shepard said. It had been the second time she'd visited here. "If by 'character' he meant 'endurance', I think he was right. Not everyone can stand this place."

"Are you able to?" he asked. It sounded like something her psyche would ponder, maybe less curious.

"I should. Someday everywhere might look like this." Somehow saying that aloud made the whole truth about the invasion seem more serious, more real.

A breeze gently pushed the dust on the ground toward them. She didn't feel it, but Legion looked downwards to regard the languid movements on the stony path. It was ironic, that when she was encased in armour just like him, he was the one who possessed more sensitivity.

"Rannoch degraded to a more catastrophic state during the Morning War," he began. "It was… perplexing."

She finally faced him. His expression was impassive, like his voice.

"The quarians persevered in eradicating us. Their persistence resulted in the destruction of metropolises, calamity. Corpses remained unattended. The degenerated condition of the terrestrial flora and fauna eventuated in an increase of pathogenic microbes in biosphere. The quarians did not anticipate this. The infection weakened their army." There was a pause. "When they ultimately escaped, Rannoch was devastated."

She didn't know if he'd learned that from an old memory stored on a server or if his programmes had existed in some form during the conflict, experiencing every second of it.

Recalling what he'd said at the start, Shepard softly asked, "What was perplexing about it?"

"Their willingness to destroy what they considered cherished." He said the last word as though its concept was alien to him, the idea of ruining it even more. She didn't know what to say to make that common action among organics seem less illogical, and wrong. There had been a lot of things in her life she wished she hadn't given up.

A quiet alert from her omni-tool notified Shepard of the Kodiak's approach, and although the stillness in the tunnel was rather soothing, she was all too aware of their mission, the disease, and the other problems back in the camp.

"Let's go. I'd rather be around when Mordin arrives in a place full of krogans." And with that, she turned around and began striding toward the entrance.


	21. Anomaly

**Anomaly**

The Urdnot camp was quieter when they returned. There were fewer sounds of coughs, even less groans of pain. She didn't have to see the new bodies lying by the tunnel's entrance to understand why.

As they neared the main gate, Wrex came out of an adjoining room to inform Shepard that their shuttle had just landed. It didn't take long for Mordin to reach the central area of the camp, with Grunt bringing up the rear.

"This pyjack again," were Wrex's first words upon Mordin's arrival. "You're looking good for a geezer."

"You look…" Mordin ran a quick scan on the krogan before finishing his sentence. "Healthy."

Wrex's muttering about 'nosey doctors' went unnoticed by Shepard as she faced Grunt and said, "The guards at the outer walls have a klixen problem. See what you can do about it."

"With pleasure." He loaded his Claymore and broke off from the group.

When she turned to Mordin, he was already crouching down next to a corpse, diagnosing it.

"Is this the same thing that spread on Omega?" Shepard asked. Somehow, she wasn't too eager to hear the answer to that question.

The result of the analysis showed up, and as he read it, his expression became thoughtful and solemn.

"Yes."

There was a long moment of silence as the meaning of his reply sank in. Wrex was the only one not affected by the news. Unsurprising. He didn't know anything about the origin of the contagion, or its creator.

Mordin deactivated his omni-tool and got up. "Will need a laboratory to re-create the cure."

"There's one on the other side of the camp." The clan leader gestured in its direction. "We've also brought anything useful we could find in that Blood Pack hospital."

"Good. Will begin working on it immediately. Should be ready soon." He paused, musing. "Hmm. Can be distributed using the Shroud."

"You have to rebuild it."

The doctor looked at Shepard, expecting her to mention that the previous statement had been a bad krogan joke. She didn't.

"Problematic." He raised a hand to his chin, frowning in concentration. "Can't be a coincidence. Culprit likely expected us to use the Shroud for countering virus. This level of anticipation suggests intelligence. Also finesse—managed to destroy the Shroud without getting caught." He took a deep breath. "Couldn't have been done by the vorcha this time."

"Can we ponder this while you're creating the cure?" Wrex interrupted, a bit impatient. "My people are dying."

"Yes. Yes. Got distracted." The salarian headed for the lab, thinking out loud, "Would have to add the antidote to the ventilation systems of populated areas. Slow method of distribution on a large scale. But only available option…" The rest of his words become incomprehensible mutterings as he gained some distance.

Before accompanying the doctor, Wrex told the Commander, "I've informed the guards you'll be taking out one of the tomkahs." And with that, he too left the group.

Legion turned to her, questioning, and she remembered that he hadn't been in the camp with them while they were discussing the possible starting point of the disease.

"There are ruins near the perimeters, south of here. I want to check it quickly, see if there's some clue as to how this began," she explained en route to where the trucks were parked. The krogan guarding them allowed her entry, and she climbed inside the nearest vehicle, with Legion following suit soon afterwards.

The interior was dimly lit. On the floor was a pack of thermal clips and medi-gel, but ignoring them, Shepard went to the front of the car. As she was about to take the driver's seat, Legion placed a hand on the back of the chair, blocking her path.

"I have reviewed the heretics' recordings of your operation on Therum," he stated in response to her unspoken inquiry.

It took a full second for her to remember the details of that particular assignment—the crushed barricades, broken Mako thrusters, and all the pulverised armatures she'd left in her wake. Under better circumstances she might have given a retort in reply to what he'd said, but after witnessing the current state of Tuchanka she had become weary, and having someone else do the driving was almost a blessing.

Wordlessly, Shepard moved to sit on the other front chair. She could tell that reaction wasn't what Legion had anticipated from the way he regarded her before taking his seat.

The engine and navigation system came online as he activated them, and seeing that everything was functional, he propelled the car. The gate at the end of the underground tunnel slid back as they approached it, opening the way to the surface. Night had fallen, and the environment outside was enveloped in darkness. She could see the communication tower off in the distance, but that too left her line of sight as Legion pulled the vehicle out of the camp and onto the highway.

Shepard took off her helmet. In the dim interior light of the car she could see the scratches marking it—some faint, others running deeper—and she lingeringly traced the most evident one. Not of affection. There hadn't been anything endearing about the Collector base.

"The krogan responsible for accompanying me to the communication tower stated eight clan leaders had succumbed to the virus," Legion informed her.

It was just a couple of hours ago when they'd been sitting in the mess-room. Back then, her main concern about this mission had been annoying leaders and their demands. And now…

With a sigh, she put aside her helmet. The timing of this catastrophe was too convenient to think of it as just a coincidence.

"To be frank, I'm more concerned about the females." Perhaps it was an insensitive thing to consider the death of one member of a species less important than the other, but judging by the current state of the krogan, their future depended on procreation more than anything else.

"Statistical data suggests not all females have perished."

"Not all of them are fertile," she said, watching the dried shrubbery alongside the road streak past in a blur.

"That is a variable quality." His voice was resonant, as was the meaning of his words. That possibility had crossed her mind too, but she didn't mention it.

There hadn't been many successful diplomatic conventions in krogan history. It had usually been a bargain—technology for troops or money in exchange for firepower. Shepard hoped the krogans would realise that the Reaper threat was serious, because this time she wasn't in a position to offer anything. The likelihood of demanding a cure for the genophage was high, but the Council wouldn't let it slide if she accepted such a term. The prospect of being hunted down by every Spectre was not something she liked to experience. After all, it was she who had tracked Saren across the galaxy. It was such a strange concept, this justice.

Lightning briefly illuminated the environment outside, dragging Shepard's attention to the planet's tempestuous weather, and the looming problem of the Shroud.

She ran a hand through her hair and leaned back against the stiff headrest, closing her eyes. For a minute, it was just the hushed droning of the car's engine that prevented the compartment from having total silence. It was an oddly comforting sound, like a lullaby.

"You might prefer to schedule a liberty," she heard Legion say, and found herself not minding his interrupting her brief moments of peaceful quiet.

"Maybe after checking Zelene." That location was one of the few leads they had, and she was determined to investigate it before someone sent a group to clean up the site, like Thessia. Shore leave be damned.

"Is this about what we discussed in the hangar bay?" she asked, wondering if it was related to the Reaper programme and they couldn't talk it over on the ship.

Legion cast her a long glance before looking back at the road. Even though her eyes had been closed, she'd sensed his luminous gaze lingering on her features. Its weight had been palpable.

"You are tired," he said by way of a reply.

"I've had a rough week." Rough didn't even begin to cover it. She didn't have to bother downplaying the previous events. He had been with her in every recent mission after all, witnessing her troubles.

It was several minutes later when the vehicle stopped on the outskirt of the city ruins. In the headlight, the fallen skeleton of a satellite dish was visible, surrounded by the remains of demolished buildings. Not far from their location was a huge impact crater, evidently created by a bomb. A scar from the Rebellions.

Shepard grabbed her helmet before standing up, and taking that as a cue to leave, Legion proceeded to deactivate the car's systems. On her way to the hatch, she picked up the thermal clips and medi-gel from the floor. She was somewhere at the bottom of the food chain on this planet. Extra ammunition couldn't hurt.

"EDI, do you read me?"

"Signal is weak, but I'm able to clear the majority of statics."

"Can you upload the map of this region?"

"In a moment."

The data was transferred to her omni-tool almost instantly. A small circle marked a location somewhere in the middle of the city, and when Shepard was about to ask EDI its purpose, the AI offered the explanation herself. "There is an anomalous absence of signals in a part of the ruins, even though a transmission beacon is present in that area. Something is actively masking the thermal and electronic emissions. I have marked its approximate location on your map."

"We'll check it," Shepard said. The thought of telling EDI to send in a probe and investigate the situation further came to her mind, but in the end she decided against it. If the culprit was still at the site, she didn't want to give them a head start on their arrival.

Her eyes stayed on the circular indicator for a few more heartbeats, before she closed the hologram and got out of the tomkah.

It was windy outside, and the low precipitation made the night time chill harsher. An atmosphere of melancholy and depression was present, like an invisible shroud, covering every inch of the land. The whole place gave off the uncanny bleak feeling of a graveyard, and it probably was one. This had been a warzone after all.

When Legion was out of the vehicle, Shepard started to walk forward, mounting a tactical light on her shotgun. The road beneath her feet was uneven, its deep cracks speaking of centuries of neglect. On the other side of the satellite wreckage, a hundred metres away, she saw the remnants of what used to be a town square. There was a marble krogan statue lying on the ground, broken and eroded. The stone wall to her left was mostly covered by dust and cobwebs, but underneath all of those, she caught a glimpse of an engraving and trained the beam of her torch on it, curious. It was an image, worn with age, but still perceivable.

"It is a depiction of the final battle on Suen, the rachni conflicts," was Legion's concise explanation.

Shepard paused in her tracks to observe the carving. With the light of his eye now focused on it as well, she could make out the outlines of what seemed to be a krogan—a warlord most likely—standing atop a hill, his posture proud. The area surrounding him was filled with corpses. It was a massacre.

She turned away and they resumed walking. As time passed by, the sight of destroyed buildings slowly became familiar. As did the gusting winds and the echoing sound of their footsteps. A collapsed archway came to view, along with the set of wide stairs beyond it, leading to the lower section of the ruins. This neighbourhood was more ancient than the district they had previously passed through. Stone was used excessively in the architecture, giving it a monolithic appearance. Combined with the hills encircling the town, the place almost seemed like an arena where one would expect a conflict to happen. A disaster.

There was another strike of lightning in the sky, heralding the approach of a sandstorm.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused briefly to survey the area. It seemed to be a courtyard, surrounded by wreckage and ending in a tunnel. It was dark, steep, about fifteen feet in height and width. As they drew nearer to the underground passage, their flashlights revealed the uneven stones forming its walls, the sluggish movement of dust in the air. Knowing that there was no other way to their destination, they entered it.

At first, the tunnel seemed no different to any other underpass she had seen on Tuchanka. It was after some minutes of going through its twists and turns that the overall appearance began to show some contrast. The rocks shaping the walls were eroded, the ground was softer, and as Shepard tested it by putting more pressure on her next step, she realised why: there was moisture in the soil. And in the air. She could smell it.

A side tunnel came to view, but they ignored it and continued forward. The low beep from her omni-tool warned them that their communication signal was getting distorted, too weak—that soon enough, the two of them would be cut off from the outside world.

From a crack in the ceiling, water dripped into a puddle every other second, and its sound echoed in the cave, like a chime, breaking the eerie silence.

The small puddles here and there joined together to form a shallow pool that reached just above their ankles. As the two moved further in, Shepard felt she was stepping on something hard and cylindrical, about the size of a pebble. She looked down, her torch illuminating the object almost obscured below the murky water: a discarded heatsink.

When she raised her head to inform the geth, her eyes fell on the intersection a hundred feet away, lit up by Legion's intent gaze. And the significance of her earlier discovery paled in comparison to what she saw ahead. There was splattered blood on the walls, dried, oxidized to a dark shade of brown. The aftermath of a carnage.

On the ground close to the junction lay an empty Spike Thrower shotgun, but they ignored it and warily approached the walls to inspect the bloodstains. A quick analysis with the omni-tool revealed the victim had been a krogan.

"What would a krogan be doing in a place like this?" asked Shepard, closing the scanner.

"Investigation?" Legion suggested.

"Wrex didn't mention sending any scouts to the ruins."

A sudden rattling from the passage to their right interrupted their exchange, and they both pointed their weapons in its direction. All that was visible in their flashlights was a dark, empty passage.

Cautiously, Shepard edged towards the source. From the corner of her eye, she saw Legion deploy his combat drone. The blue spherical device hovered forward ahead of them, and its regular low beeps became muffled as it gained some distance. Eventually, the tunnel widened into a natural chamber and the drone stopped at its entrance, emitting hushed electronic noises, but doing nothing else. It didn't locate any targets in the immediate area.

Relaxing her hold on the shotgun for just a fraction, Shepard went inside. From her position close to the archway, she could see that a section of one of the walls had collapsed, and through that large hole, another part of the underpass was visible. As she was about to approach it and inspect the area on the other side, her gaze fell on the ground. In the gentle light of the drone hovering behind her, she could see deep scratches on the floor, and traces of a viscous yellowish fluid…

The drone abruptly exploded, and Shepard had just enough time to turn around and see a four-legged insectoid creature lunging at her. Out of instinct she rolled away, barely dodging the claw going for her head. From somewhere behind, she heard a sniper fire. The shot staggered its target, and she used that brief window to get back to her feet before sending a potent shockwave in the hostile's direction. Wounded, it let out a screech and retreated into the darkness.

Shepard pointed her flashlight to where it had withdrawn. It was empty. Her beam moved to the nearby large stones. Just then, the creature jumped out of its hiding spot to strike again. Its assault was interrupted when Legion hit it with a cryo blast. Without hesitation, Shepard released another shockwave towards the creature. The collision of power was followed by an immediate arctic explosion, leaving everything in its proximity completely frozen.

It was a few seconds before the dust and cold mist settled, revealing the monster lying on the ground, dead.

Shepard slowly lowered her weapon, her breathing heavy and heart pounding fast from the surge of adrenaline. The thin layer of ice crunched beneath her feet as she walked closer to examine the corpse. Standing before the body, she played the beam of her torch along it, for the first time paying attention to its features without the distraction of an immediate danger. Her brow furrowed as recognition hit her.

The body had been hideously mutated. The carapace that should have covered its head was absent altogether. The skull was visible, too thick and protruded, like the sickening mass of muscles wrapped around its leg joints and over the stomach. Its eyes were missing; the sockets were instead filled with cysts, a thick yellowish fluid oozing from them.

Despite all the horrendous changes, the anatomy was still identifiable. Shepard didn't have to analyse the body to know it had belonged to a klixen.

"Has the virus done this?" she asked.

"Klixen are immune to diseases—the current airborne one included."

Shepard raised her head to scan their surroundings, wary of another ambush. It didn't escape her notice that the mutant hadn't experienced any post-mortem explosions. If they still had a radio connection with the _Normandy_, she would have contacted EDI and requested information, or perhaps even aid. If the corpse on the ground was any indication, they were going to need it.

Knowing that it wasn't wise to linger, she quickly took a small sample for Mordin and then left the chamber with Legion via the opposite passage. The tunnel was airless, almost suffocating, and she had to put on her helmet to keep going. A look at the map told her that only a ten minute walk was left before reaching the surface. Strange that the air was so stale this near to the exit.

Remembering something from the ambush earlier, she turned to the geth. "Why didn't your drone react to the target?"

His brow-plates shifted ever so slightly, and if Shepard hadn't been looking at him, she would have missed the minor change in his expression.

"Unknown."

It was the movement in the shadows behind them that swayed her focus from their conversation. Alarmed, she slowed down to check it.

"Do not stop," said Legion, a sense of urgency in his voice.

"We're being followed," she argued, chancing a glance over her shoulder.

His watchful gaze scanned the environment. "We are being surrounded," he corrected her, switching to the Mattock. "The hostiles are behind the walls."

And if Shepard hadn't believed him then, she would have when the crawling noises became loud enough to be heard—noises that came from just the other side of the stone, too close. She tried not to become distracted, because that was all they wanted: a moment of carelessness. The clatter was probably done on purpose, an attempt to induce fear.

She quickly checked the map again. They had to go right at the next junction, and after that it was just a long straight path to the exit. Increasing her pace, she activated the squad cryo ammunition power, concluding that the freezing effect would delay the creatures long enough for the two of them to reach the surface.

An intersection loomed ahead of them and they took the right passage. It was halfway into the new tunnel that they came to a stop, eyes transfixed on the sight illuminated by their flashlights. The way ahead was blocked by a cave-in.

Her initial shock was soon replaced with apprehension. Gripping her shotgun, Shepard turned to face the path behind. It was empty, oddly quiet, as if all they'd seen and heard a minute ago had been just a hallucination. Beside her, Legion increased the beam distance of his eye, and its light eliminated the dark shadows obscuring the area. There were no monsters in sight.

Shepard took a tentative step forward, then another. Nothing unusual happened. Taking a deep calming breath, she continued ahead. A moment of security, and then a part of the ceiling came crashing down, a mutant claw lashed out from the hole, missing her face by inches. She jolted back and shot the leg. The creature let out a shriek and retreated. It was afterwards that she realised Legion was rapidly firing at something ahead, and she quickly checked the targets. Two mutants were rapidly approaching them—no, there were three. Wasting no time, Shepard released a shockwave to push the creatures back, buying the two of them a few extra seconds to form an escape plan. There was only one way out, and that was already blocked.

Refusing defeat, she cast an area reave. The monsters were slowed down, even more so when Legion hit them with a cryo blast. As her next shockwave collided with its marks, the unstable arctic effect resulted in an explosion. The cave shook from its force, pebbles and choking showers of dust falling. She knew it was dangerous to try that again, but there were mutants trying to claw their way in from the hole in the ceiling, and she sent out another shockwave, knowing they'll be dead if she didn't. This time the impact caused a biotic explosion, killing the hostiles in front of them.

The relief was short-lived, because by the time they managed to reload, two other klixen had come down from above. The nearest one was staggered when Legion emptied a clip in its head. Noticing that another enemy was moving in to flank Shepard, he pointed the barrel of his gun and shot at it. His attack was interrupted when suddenly a part of the wall broke down and a mutant grabbed him from behind, wrapping its frontal legs around his abdomen, pinning his arms. The Mattock fell and skidded out of reach. The gravity of the situation became even more tangible when the creature attempted to drag him into the hole. He forcefully brought back his head, hitting the mutant in the face. It let out a screech, loosening its grip a bit, enough for him to free a hand. Before it could recover, he grabbed at the leg pinning his other arm and yanked it with all his might, tearing it out along with the connected organs. With a strident cry, the monster released him, momentarily stunned. It tried to get away, but was killed in the spot with a Widow headshot.

Sensing movement from behind, Legion spun round just in time to see another enemy lunging at him. It was biotically stopped in mid-air, before being killed by a carnage attack. What was left of it fell to the ground.

He looked up from the lacerated body to find Shepard standing on other side, amidst the corpses of their fallen enemies, near the cave-in where he'd last seen her before being ambushed. There was a deep slash in her helmet, a gash on her shoulder, and he didn't need to see the rapid rise and fall of her chest to know her breathing was laboured.

She proceeded to inject a medi-gel before taking off her impaired mask and dropping it down. Her left temple was scarred, the side of her face bloodied.

"One of them played dead," she explained, finally getting her breath back.

He shifted his gaze to the ground to scan the bodies. The Mattock was lying a couple of feet away.

"There is a natural passage behind this wall. It is connected to the upper section of the city ruins," said Legion, walking to his fallen weapon and retrieving it. He gestured to the large hole nearby to let her know which wall he was talking about. She assumed Legion would continue by telling how he had discovered that particular information, but instead, he turned to her and calmly asked, "Do you require assistance?"

It was a moment later that she realised he was referring to her injuries.

"They are bearable," Shepard replied, and then moved to the newly-revealed route. It was when she neared its entrance that she understood how the geth had figured out the path would lead to the surface. The air draft was palpable—an indubitable result of the gust of winds passing through the ruins above.

She stepped inside, all too aware of the confined space of the passage and the fact that a mutant had emerged from here earlier. But what other choice did they have? The dozen corpses lying in the previous tunnel served as a warning that they couldn't linger. The deep gash on her shoulder was an even better reminder—a wound which hadn't stopped its slow bleeding even after a medi-gel injection. Perhaps she shouldn't have declined Legion's offer of assistance.

She took out another medi-gel vial and injected it, close to the injury. It stung like hell, but this time the medicine managed to seal the wound, at least for now. She doubted the thin layer of skin would hold if they got into another fight. She really hoped they wouldn't. The two remaining shots in her gun were hardly enough to kill a klixen.

She turned to Legion who was pacing on her left. "How many spare clips do you have?"

"One."

A few seconds of consideration, and then she drew her own Mattock and held it out for him. It was still fully loaded. His eye moved to the rifle in her hand, and then up to meet her gaze. He made no attempt to take the weapon.

"I have biotics," Shepard added, seeing his unwillingness.

She half expected him to counter with a 'The Widow is sufficient', but then he took the gun from her, with a slight nod of his head that she didn't know whether was a quiet assent or a wordless 'thanks'. When Shepard looked back ahead, the exit was in sight and it wasn't long before they reached it—an irregular hole at the bottom of a hill.

The sandstorm had arrived at the ruins, the field hidden behind a thick veil of dust. Although visibility was low, she could still identify the outlines of the turian dreadnaught wreckage at the edge of a nearby cliff, as if it had been left there untouched for everyone to see, like a trophy. No matter that the Rebellions had not been a victory for the krogans.

The krogans… That reminded her of why she was here in the first place, that even though the presence of mutants in this area was a sinister revelation, there were even more imperative problems.

Shepard glanced at the map again. Their objective was not very far now, just on the other side of this plain. Somewhere along the way, there was a Harvester corpse lying amidst the rubble. About a dozen eggs were planted on it, living off the dead organism. And so she wasn't very surprised when another one of those creatures attacked them in that area. It was put down quickly, like the other three which were encountered soon afterwards. Their mistake was to assault separately. Not that Shepard felt an ounce of pity for them. Good riddance.

The sandstorm became heavier by the time they reached their destination. Through the obscuring curtain of sand, Shepard could only see the silhouette of a towering object right ahead, standing imperiously in the middle of the destroyed town square. She approached it with caution, expecting to find a device similar in appearance to the one she'd come across on Canalus. It was when she got some metres closer that its details became visible. And she stopped, lips parted in shock, the realisation chilling her to the bone. Because she'd seen enough in the past months to know that the organic-looking structure in front of her was Collector technology.

She took an involuntary step forward, hoping it would disappear, hoping it was the blood loss that was making her imagine things. It remained where it was, domineering—a great mockery, because its presence meant more than being a tool to distribute a virus. It meant danger. It meant failure.

It was with some effort that she turned to Legion. He was regarding the device, contemplative, his brow-plates forming a subtle frown.

"Can you deactivate it?" asked Shepard, failing to mask the chagrin in her voice.

He looked at her, saying nothing, before walking forward to its control panel. And in the sombre silence, she could almost hear the admonishing thought repeating at back of her mind—the one related to her decision to destroy the base. She turned away to stare into the distance.

A few minutes had passed by the time he managed to disable all the systems. When he returned to her side afterwards, she was still regarding the bleak scenery.

"We ought to leave," were his placid words.

She slightly inclined her head.

"We have to."

And with that, they began walking out of the ruins, not bothering to try contacting the _Normandy_ for the shuttle, because it wasn't possible to establish a connection in this storm. The weather became gentler by the time they exited the city and started circling it to get back to their abandoned truck, neither of them eager to retrace their previous path to reach it.

Just when the stillness of the desert was becoming familiar, it was broken by the sound of approaching vehicles. Shepard was the first to stop, confused, looking at the three tomkahs nearing them. As the cars reached her and Legion, the hatch of one of them opened, and out came Wrex.

"Need a ride?"

"Wrex?" asked Shepard in mild disbelief.

"You're the one toddling in the middle of nowhere and I'm the surprising sight?" He dropped down. "Can't expect me to let you have all the fun."

The momentary shock vanished from her expression, and it darkened when she remembered all the ominous occurrences that had happened in the past hour. "There were mutated klixen in the ruins. We also found the device that was distributing the virus. It was Collector technology."

"On _my_ planet?" Irascibly, he faced the two guards who were standing close by. "What are you pyjacks doing in the orbital battle stations?!"

They mumbled something which sounded like an excuse, shuffling away from the angry clan leader.

Wrex turned back to Shepard. "Did you blow up that thing?"

"Better let Mordin check it before bombing the place."

Knowing him, she knew he would want to rush ahead and smash the device to pieces himself. But in the end, he let out a grunt and said, "Come on. We'll get you back to the camp."

She went towards the truck Wrex had entered, more than interested to leave behind the ruins. Before climbing inside the vehicle, Shepard paused, sensing a penetrating gaze on the back of her skull. She turned around to find the source. All she saw was a dark empty wasteland that seemed to stretch beyond infinity.

* * *

_Author's Note:_

_This is as far as my backups go. I recently discovered that I no longer have chapter 22 on my PC. If someone by some miracle has taken a copy of it, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll have to rewrite the whole chapter from scratch again if I decide to continue this story in the future. _

_Anyways. I hope you enjoyed reading this thus far._

_Regards,_

_PashN._


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